Husson, St Joseph’s College Go Virtual Due to COVID Outbreak

Husson and St. Joseph's College have moved to nearly all-remote learning for the week, due to an outbreak of COVID-19.

On the Husson University website, Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Provost Lyn Coy-Ogan said  that the majority of classes this week will be delivered in a virtual, or Zoom setting. This decision was made after at least 15 students have been affected by the outbreak, with at least 7 of them showing positive test results for COVID-19. WABI-TV reports the students do not live on campus and had all attended an off-campus Halloween party together, which was also attended by someone who was positive for the virus.The affected students are currently in quarantine.

Students who live on-campus are being allowed to remain in their dorms until the Thanksgiving break. Most of the campus will be open to students, as well, with the exception of the Newman Gymnasium, the Swan Center, and the Webber Pool. But officials hope that moving to remote learning, for now, will help reduce the campus footprint and, hopefully, minimize the possible spread of the infection. Face-to-face learning is expected to resume on November 23rd, just before the holiday break.

St. Joseph's College in Standish will also move to remote learning, temporarily, due to an outbreak that involves at least 12 cases of COVID-19. Students will have to take a COVID-19 test, starting today, before exiting the campus. At this point, school officials are not sure whether students will be allowed to return to campus after the holiday break.

Anyone who has been in contact with students from these colleges are encouraged to watch for symptoms of COVID-19. This could include fever or chills, a cough, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, nausea, or diarrhea. Find more symptom information on the Maine CDC website.