DOBBS FERRY - Twenty-eight students at Mercy College had direct exposure to an adjunct faculty member who tested positive for coronavirus, college President Tim Hall said on Thursday.

School administrators contacted those affected by email Wednesday, the same day Mercy announced that the adjunct was another confirmed case of the rapidly spreading virus that has made Westchester County the epicenter of the New York state outbreak.

Mercy has followed up or will be following up via phone with those in direct contact with the instructor, a move Hall said came after advisement with the county Department of Health.

“We’re collectively addressing the students we think have been directly affected, that’s what we’re doing,” he said. “Of course there’s an almost endless ability to make inferences about who may have talked to whom and who may have passed by who. They don’t seem to think that’s the main thing to focus on right now.”

Even before the positive test, Mercy had canceled classes this week and planned to move to online classes beginning next week. Hall told The Journal News/lohud in an interview that he had dispersed staff this week but may bring back some workers next week.

The adjunct is not showing symptoms of the virus, officials said.

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The college is contending with encouraging social distancing to fight the spread of what is now officially a global pandemic and has led to a slowing of local commerce and an end to public gatherings in the area.

But Mercy is balancing that with students living in the dorms who may not easily be able to return home.

“We’re trying to be cognizant of the fact we don’t want a lot of people congregating in our dorms and we’re trying to inform them of that fact,” Hall said. “But we’re also cognizant we have students of different financial resources and personal circumstances so we’re not just saying 'everyone get out of the dorms, we’re not going to allow you to stay.’ ”

Staff was sent home this week, but some may return next week, Hall said. The school canceled all large events and like many other colleges is facing the possibility that graduation ceremonies may have to be postponed or canceled if the spread of COVID-19 hasn’t been significantly contained in the coming weeks.

The college has also set up a website for coronavirus updates at https://www.mercy.edu/about-mercy/coronavirus-information.

Mercy has its main campus and a Yorktown campus in Westchester and has been temporarily occupying the campus of the former College of New Rochelle, which is located in the city that has been a hot spot of cases and led to the state designating a "containment area" that stretches into nearby Eastchester.

The Dobbs Ferry Mercy campus is about 10 miles away from the containment area.

The college also has campuses in Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City. Total enrollment is more than 10,000 including undergraduates and graduate students across all campuses and online learners.

All of Mercy’s facilities are being cleaned and disinfected under the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials said.

Mark Lungariello covers government and politics. Follow him on Facebook @lungariello and Twitter @marklungariello. For our latest subscription offers click here.