NC State students ordered to leave university housing after 'rapid spread' of COVID-19
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina State University students will have to leave their on-campus housing by Sept. 6, according to a letter from Chancellor Randy Woodson.
This comes one day after the university announced that seven new COVID-19 clusters had been identified involving students, both on campus and off campus.
In Tuesday's letter, Woodson said students in university housing will have to make an appointment to leave their dorms between Thursday, Aug. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 6.
Woodson cited rising cases in residence halls, off-campus apartments and Greek houses as the reason for the decision to close student housing.
"We hoped and strived to keep residence halls open and safe to best serve our students. However, the rapid spread and increasing rate of positive cases have made our current situation untenable," Woodson wrote in the letter.
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Any student currently in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19 will need to be cleared by Student Health Services before moving out of their dorms.
Woodson said students will receive prorated refunds for their fall semester housing and dining, and students with special circumstances can apply for waivers to stay on-campus.
"We're not where we want to be today, but we're hopeful that by reducing our on-campus population, we can keep our community safe and slow the spread of this relentless virus. The vital work of the university will continue - to educate, to conduct groundbreaking research and to contribute to our world in meaningful ways," Woodson said.
Last Monday, UNC Chapel Hill announced that it was shifting undergraduate in-person instruction to remote learning.
Officials did not mandate that students leave campus, but strongly encouraged them to do so.
