Memorial University believes there is a low risk in carrying on with classes until Wednesday evening.

MUN announced on Sunday that classes and labs—both face-to-face and online—are to be suspended at the end of day on Wednesday, March 18 for the reminder of the semester. Classes will resume online on March 23.

Dean of Science, and Co-Incident Commander of the University’s Emergency Operations Committee, Dr. Mark Abraham says it’s an issue of guaranteeing the health and safety of the academic community while ensuring they provide their academic obligations to students.

He says right now there are no incidents of COVID-19 on campus.

Dr. Abraham states that they believe the risk of carrying on until Wednesday is very low. With time missed from the shutdown due to Snowmageddon, he says this gives them the best opportunity to meet their obligations to students so they can complete their academic term.

As for how the decision was made, Dr. Abraham says it was a major and unprecedented one. They needed to make sure they coordinated with the provincial government and others.

Dr. Abraham says there are a lot of questions coming up, and they won’t pretend to have all the answers. However, he says they tried to get as many answers as they could before making a decision.

Update from Memorial's Emergency Operations Centre: Classes suspended as of end-of-day Wednesday March 18, returning remotely March 23 https://t.co/CFYwOzQoXB — Memorial University (@MemorialU) March 15, 2020

Meanwhile, the University says it will remain open for employees, researchers, work-terms and placements. Academic and student support functions—such as the libraries—will remain open.

Residences will remain open but the university is asking any students who are able to move out, to do so as soon as possible, and before Sunday, March 22.

Those who cannot return home will still have accommodations and support services provided for them.

Dr. Mark Abraham says they want to get numbers down in the residences so if there is an incident they can isolate infected students and provide a low risk within the residence.

Those who move out will receive a prorated refund for their room and meal plan deposited to their student account.