School districts and universities across South Florida are revising protocols in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and the omicron variant.
University of Miami President Dr. Julio Frenk announced Wednesday that the university’s students will return to remote learning for the start of the upcoming semester.
All UM students attending the Coral Gables and Marine campuses will resume remote learning for the first two weeks of the spring semester starting January 18th.
In-person instruction is expected to resume on Monday, January 31st.
Other decisions made by the school include:
- Proof of a negative COVID test within 48 to 72 hours of arrival on campus will be required for returning students, and residential students will test again upon arrival.
- Residence and dining halls will be available to students as planned, although all dining will be available for take-out only.
- Residential students will be free to move in any time during the remote learning period, at their convenience.
- In addition, indoor activities will be postponed until on-campus instruction begins, and indoor masking will continue for the foreseeable future.
- UM's definition of “fully vaccinated” now includes receiving the appropriate booster shot, as soon as it is advisable. Students who have not documented that they are fully vaccinated will continue to test twice per week.
The news comes the same day the Broward County Public Schools announced an emergency meeting for Friday to change their district’s mask policy.
The decision will apply to staff, visitors and vendors, but not students.
School board members for Miami-Dade County Public schools are also set to make an announcement about its protocols by the end of the week.
Florida set a new daily record for positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday with more than 47,000 new infections, as the omicron variant surges in the days after the holidays, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.