GEORGIA — Effective Monday, March 16, all University System of Georgia institutions will temporarily suspend instruction for two weeks, the system announced Thursday afternoon. This will allow time for the colleges and universities to test their business continuity plans and online instruction modules, and for state officials to continue to assess the current situation regarding coronavirus in Georgia.

Emory University was the first Georgia university to extend its spring break. The university said Wednesday night it will extend spring break for students until Sunday, March 22, and transition to remote learning for graduate and undergraduate classes on Monday, March 23.

Although no college or university in Georgia has reported any cases of the new coronavirus in students, many schools are approaching spring break, including one school which is extending its break and moving all classes online.

As of Thursday morning, there are now 31 confirmed and presumed positive cases of the new coronavirus in 12 counties around Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday night.

Residential learning will be suspended for the remainder of the semester while the university remains open, Emory said in a release.

Globally, more than 127,000 people have been infected and more than 4,700 people have died from the new coronavirus , Johns Hopkins reported Thursday morning. Of that total, more than 80,000 confirmed cases are in China, while the entire United States has 1,323 confirmed cases as of Thursday morning. There have been 38 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak.

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Emory Healthcare has identified two presumptive cases of COVID-19 on testing sent from Emory Healthcare to the Georgia Department of Public Health laboratory. One individual is a returning traveler from a CDC Level 3 country who personally sought care in an Emory Healthcare emergency department. The second person is also a returning traveler from a CDC Level 3 country who was referred to a TravelWell Clinic at the discretion of Department of Public Health for testing.

Here are what some Georgia colleges and universities were saying prior to the two-week suspension:

To date, there have been no cases of COVID‑19 reported at the University of Georgia, although there are now reported cases in the state of Georgia.

UGA is on spring break March 9-13 for students, but offices remain open. Students return March 16.

Following guidelines from the CDC and Georgia Department of Health, all travelers originating from, returning from, or connecting through a CDC Warning Level 3 or higher travel notice area must not return to a University of Georgia campus or facility until they have been symptom-free for 14 days from the date of entering/re-entering the United States. Travelers should self-quarantine and follow CDC and local health authority guidelines.



For all students, faculty, and staff, if you are traveling internationally in any capacity — through UGA or on personal travel — register your travel through the Office of Global Engagement's International Travel Registry.

In a message to campus, President Ángel Cabrera formed a coronavirus task force that will lead the preparation for and coordination of an institute response in the event campus operations are affected.



Georgia Tech students will go on spring break March 16-20.

All Georgia Tech-related travel to countries listed at Level 3 or higher on the CDC's travel advisory have been canceled. An Institute-sponsored program to Japan has also been canceled. Additionally, all international spring break programs sponsored by Georgia Tech have been canceled. Domestic spring break trips will proceed as planned.



For those traveling to and from countries under a CDC Warning – Level 3 and higher, Georgia Tech encourages students to notify Stamps Health Services at covid19travel@health.gatech.edu of the recent travel, and then self-monitor and self-isolate for 14 days before returning to campus.

Effective immediately, Georgia Tech requires that all large-scale campus events adopt enhanced public health protocols. Event organizers should increase available hand sanitizer as well as adopt more stringent pre- and post-cleaning regimens.

Custodial staff will alter their cleaning practices to focus more on surface cleanliness and disinfection, particularly in common areas.

As of Thursday, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Georgia State. The university will continue to provide updates to the community, including on its website.

Campuses remain open. However, the school said it is prepared to make changes should public health authorities recommend otherwise.

Georgia State said it knows this is a rapidly evolving situation, and it is staying alert to new information and recommendations coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Georgia Department of Public Health and the U.S. Department of State.

Spring break is March 16-20.

There are no reported cases of exposure to the virus at Kennesaw State.



The university has established a coronavirus task force to lead the preparation for and coordination of the response by the institution in case operations are affected. The task force members have been working with emergency and health management officials within the university to assess continuity of operations plans in case normal operations are interrupted.



KSU's spring break is March 30-April 3.

As of March 11, the University of West Georgia has no suspected cases of coronavirus, and UWG has not been notified of any member of the campus community with the virus.

The Student Health Center has procedures in place for contagious severe illnesses and is prepared.

To reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses, all patients arriving at the UWG Student Health Center with cough, sneezing, sore throat, fever, and respiratory issues will be asked to provide a travel history to determine if they are at risk for the newly identified coronavirus. We are also mindful of the increased stress caused by the situation.

The University System of Georgia and its institutions will not approve travel to any country listed with a travel health notice of Level 3 or higher according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Spring break is March 16-20.

University North Georgia officials, in partnership with state agencies, continue to monitor closely the COVID-19 public health situation.

UNG has an emergency operations plan that includes established protocols for monitoring and responding to infectious diseases. In the interim, key UNG personnel are conducting tabletop preparedness exercises for the purpose of improved internal coordination and implementation of safety measures.



Spring break is March 23-27.

Georgia Southern University has no suspected cases of coronavirus, and Georgia Southern has not been notified of any member of the campus community with the virus.

University System of Georgia and its institutions will not approve any travel to any affected countries based on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control related to the new strain of coronavirus.

The risk of the spread of COVID-19 in Georgia remains low at this time, and Georgia Southern administration and healthcare personnel are closely monitoring the situation as it develops following the lead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Georgia Department of Public Health, as well as the University System of Georgia.

Spring break is March 16-20.