Thursday, March 12 updates:

University of Oregon has set up handwashing stations around campus in another effort to stave off spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

Provost Patrick Phillips said over a phone call Thursday that campus will be setting up these stations in multiple places across campus to encourage people to regularly wash their hands, which is a common-sense prevention method public health officials have consistently pointed to.

The stations are also meant to serve as a "social reminder," and keep prevention front-of-mind, he said.

"The philosophy of everything we’ve done is around reducing the transmission rate," Phillips said. "It’s only realistic that some students, staff and faculty are going to get sick," but the university hopes to be able to control the spread when that happens.

UO has also upped its cleaning and custodial services across campus, with special attention to high traffic areas such as the Erb Memorial Union.

On Wednesday, the university announced it would require finals not be held in person and that the first three weeks of courses in spring term (starting March 30) be delivered online.

However, the university is still open. Residence halls are still open for students, and while the majority of the students don’t live on campus there still are about 5,000 who do.

"Our responsibility as a public institution is to work with the public health authorities," Phillips said. So should a case be identified in Lane County or on campus, the public health authorities would lead the charge on response.

"Quarantining is part of that. ... We would be working and cooperating with those authorities," he said. The university has developed contingency plans should a quarantine be necessary.

Campus housing is out of the provost’s purview, but he said students who are immunocompromised or have health conditions should contact housing about if they feel they should be isolated.

"I would hope those students would be letting their needs be known so people in housing would start addressing that as a concern," he said.

UO cannot restrict students’ personal travel over spring break, which has been a concern voiced over social media. But the university leadership has urged students be cautious and consider not traveling over break.

If students do travel outside the state, though, Phillips said he hopes the three weeks of online courses will give people time to take care of and consider their personal health before coming back to campus.

Northwest Christian University, soon to be renamed Bushnell University, announced Thursday that its classes this week will continue as usual. But starting Monday, "face-to-face classes will comply with social-distancing recommendations (three feet between individuals)," an announcement on the website stated.

All university events with more than 50 people will be canceled, effective immediately. Campus still remains open, and residences and dining will be open during spring break.

NCU urged students, staff and faculty to not travel during spring break.

"Staying in place, as opposed to traveling, will limit the potential contact or transmission of the coronavirus," the announcement stated.

Additional campus cleanings have also been underway.

Wednesday, March 11 updates:

University of Oregon, Oregon State University and Lane Community College are taking more drastic steps to avoid COVID-19 on campus — including moving classes online, restricting travel and canceling events — as the state’s number of cases continues to increase.

The move follows the action of more than 100 other colleges across the U.S. that have canceled or postponed in-person classes in response to the coronavirus, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization Wednesday.

UO

University of Oregon will deliver all classes remotely for the first three weeks of spring term and cancel all large nonessential events and gatherings in response to COVID-19 concerns.

UO President Michael Schill made the announcement in a campus-wide letter Wednesday.

"At this time, there are still no known cases of COVID-19 in Lane County," he stated in the letter, "but with spring break quickly approaching, we believe it is time to enact active measures to increase social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19 on campus and protect students, faculty, staff and the broader community."

Campus will remain open — including residence halls and dining options for students. The major changes are in areas of academics, athletics events and large gatherings.

Here’s what’s changing, as outlined by Schill in his letter:

UO will cancel all "nonessential events and gatherings of more than 50 people" starting Sunday;All "nonessential university travel, both domestic and international," is suspended starting Sunday;The first three weeks of classes spring term, which starts March 30, will be delivered remotely; andNo final exams to be offered in-person for winter term.

The UO also urges students, faculty and staff to consider not traveling during spring break and to be aware of travel warnings, quarantine restrictions and other guidance through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Many of the steps we are taking will be disruptive to our institution and to many of you individually," Schill stated. "We do not take these actions lightly, and even though the UO campus will remain open, we recognize and appreciate that many of these measures will have a significant impact on our operations."

People have the option to request a waiver for their event to continue. Those requests will be reviewed by UO’s Environmental Health & Safety staff. Waivers for university-related travel are also available by emailing travelsafe@uoregon.edu

LCC

LCC’s latest message out to its college community includes restrictions on all college-affiliated interstate travel by students, faculty and staff.

"That is, there is to be no college-sponsored travel out of the state of Oregon," stated Provost and Executive Vice President Paul Jarrell in a letter Tuesday just before 4 p.m. "This will remain in effect until further notice. ... With regard to personal travel, the college will only impose a self-quarantine if directed to do so by public health officials."

Before, LCC was only restricting travel to Level 3 "do not travel" countries as advised by the CDC, and the states with the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases: Washington, California and New York.

Jarrell also noted while LCC will likely be able to finish winter term without disruptions, the college is now requiring instructors to start planning for courses being delivered online for spring term in case that is necessary.

Campus services and technology access for students will remain open and available, and faculty will decide which course may still be offered in person. The college will also be sanitizing surfaces frequently, and implementing "social distancing" measures such as seating students farther apart.

OSU

OSU has initiated similar changes to campus operations.

Provost and Executive Vice President Edward Feser released a statement to the community Wednesday noting that starting Saturday, the university plans to use online portals for instruction "to minimize in-person meetings."

Winter term’s final exams and activities will be delivered remotely "where possible," and when it’s not possible, the university plans to use "maximum social distancing measures," which the CDC defines as avoiding crowds and keeping a distance of at least six feet away from others.

Starting on March 30, all spring term courses, labs and exams will be delivered online, with the same caveat about instances it’s not possible.

OSU will not allow any non-essential events with more than 50 people until at least April 30. An essential event that would be allowed is a Board of Trustees meeting, for example.

Campus will remain open, along with research facilities and OSU extensions across Oregon. Residence halls will also stay open through spring break and term.

"In the event we had a need to assist a student by providing isolation, we have as many as 15 rooms reserved to serve students who may need to remain in isolation (for their health)," said OSU spokesperson Steve Clark. "We’re working hard to try and anticipate what we need to do to serve the students and advance them in their education to graduate."

Contact reporter Jordyn Brown at jbrown@registerguard.com or 541-338-2203, and follow her on Twitter @thejordynbrown and Instagram @registerguard. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.