Harvard Business School recently announced it was returning to online classes for most students and increasing COVID-19 testing because of a surge in breakthrough cases on campus.
First-year MBA and some second-year students at the Boston school began online classes this week after the announcement. They will remain online at least until October 3, said the school.
Approximately 95% of the university’s students and 96% of its staff are vaccinated, yet the outbreak is mostly affecting the fully vaccinated. The school’s class of 2023 has more than 1,000 students.
Despite many colleges across the country having vaccine mandates and mask requirements, virus outbreaks are still popping up on campuses.
HBS spokesperson Mark Cautela said “With the support of Harvard University leaders, advised by city and state public health officials, we have decided to move all first-year MBA students and some in the second year, to remote learning for the week of 9/27 to 10/03”.
Contact tracers who have worked with positive cases highlight that transmission is not occurring in classrooms or other academic settings on campus. Nor is it occurring among individuals who are masked.
Mark Cautela
Cautela also noted that the school has asked students to avoid unmasked indoor events, group travel and interacting with anyone outside their households.
The school is requiring students to get tested 3 times a week, regardless of vaccination status. After administering 41,864 Covid tests from Sept. 20 to Sept. 25, Harvard found that 60 of the 74 positive test results came from graduate students.