Western University is cancelling its classes and moving to online learning starting Wednesday due to concerns around COVID-19.

Thursday evening, the university's president Alan Shepard released a statement saying classes will be cancelled from March 13 until March 17 to give professors time to prepare to deliver their courses online starting March 18 for the rest of the term.

"We know these decisions will cause some disruption, and we apologize for that," Shepard said in the statement.

"Over its 140+ years, Western has faced several moments of adversity, but we have not experienced anything quite like this before. We're in uncharted territory," he added, saying the health and safety of the campus community is his top priority.

Shepard notes that courses with clinical placements will continue as they are and that students will hear directly from their faculty deans about their placements.

For now, staff and faculty are set to report to work as usual and the university buildings and facilities, including the libraries, recreation centres and health services, will remain open.

As for final exams, Shepard says the university is working on a contingency plan, as the school works to limit large gatherings.

Affiliated colleges also cancel classes

While King's University College will be following the same measures as Western, the other two affiliated colleges are proceeding with cancellations, but in a slightly different manner.

In an internal email obtained by CBC News, Huron University College's president Barry Craig said their school will also be cancelling classes until Wednesday and moving to an online format that day, but they are also implementing a non-essential staffing model starting Monday.

As a precaution, the college will also be issuing a voluntary move out starting Friday for students in residence, Craig said in the email.

"We encourage all students to move out of residence and find other accommodations if you are able to," he added, saying that this is in an effort to practice proper social distancing.

Huron's library and student advising centre will be closed physically, but students will still be able to access resources online, the email said.

Brescia on the other hand is cancelling classes and labs on Friday and will make a decision regarding a move to online learning that day.

All classes and labs at Brescia University College will be cancelled on Friday, March 13. <br><br>We anticipate that Brescia will follow Western regarding further class cancellations and movement to online format in most programs. An official decision will be made and shared tomorrow. <a href="https://t.co/jrqLTtnsBQ">https://t.co/jrqLTtnsBQ</a> —@BresciaUC

Classes continue at Fanshawe College

In a tweet, Fanshawe College said classes will be proceeding as scheduled Friday.

They say they are monitoring the situation closely and expect to provide an update that day.