LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California’s state university system, the largest in the United States, on Tuesday canceled classes on campus for the fall semester and moved instruction online because of the coronavirus, while Los Angeles County said its stay-at-home order was likely to be extended by three months.
San Diego State University campus is shown after the 23 Campuses of California State University system announced the fall 2020 semester will be online, affecting hundreds of thousands of students, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., May 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The announcements on the West Coast came after the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told Congress that lifting the sweeping lockdowns could touch off new outbreaks of the illness, which has killed nearly 81,000 Americans and devastated the economy.
In one of the first indications the pandemic will continue to have a significant impact into autumn, the chancellor of California State University said classes at its 23 campuses would be canceled for the semester that begins in September, with instruction moved online.
“Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person, as is the traditional norm of the past, is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis,” the chancellor, Timothy White, said in a statement.
“That approach, sadly, just isn’t in the cards now.”
Los Angeles County Health Director Barbara Ferrer added her o