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Keio Academy of New York, in Purchase, is closing for the remainder of the school year due to concerns over coronavirus. Students will finish their courses this school year online, the school shared in a statement Sunday.

“After consideration of all the medical facts and advice, the Board of Trustees has decided that it must act now in the interests of our students’ safety and wellbeing,” said Rieko Ivy, director of development at the school.

Ivy said it is the first time the private academy has closed for the remainder of a school year.

"This is our precautious decision before any case should occur," Ivy said.

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The school year typically runs to the end of May, with graduation in June.

Keio Academy is a boarding school with approximately 10% of its student body from the local area while the rest are from other parts of the U.S. as well as from Japan, Europe, South America and other places. The academy, which has 321 students, is affiliated with Keio University in Japan.

The school's Board of Trustees said in the statement Sunday that they feared the increase of cases in the area would "render the school an infection cluster" and decided they "must act now in the interests of our students' safety and well-being."

The school will not field athletic teams this spring, Athletic Director Andrine Trotman said in an email to other schools.

"To ensure the safety of our students, who are traveling outside of the United States, this is in the school's best interest," he said.