UT Arlington to start spring classes online with COVID-19 community spread high
UT Arlington will begin its spring 2022 semester online as COVID-19 cases in Tarrant County continue to climb, according to an email sent out to students and employees Thursday.
Tarrant County listed the community spread of the virus as high, with more than 6,000 cases reported on Thursday. More than 5,000 people have died as a result of COVID-19 infections in Tarrant County since the pandemic began. Tarrant County had 994 of its 4,335 hospital beds occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to numbers released Thursday.
UTA students are expected to start their classes online Jan. 18 and transition back into in-person instruction after Feb. 4, with few exceptions for classes that cannot be taught virtually, according to the email.
“This temporary shift to primarily online learning will get us past the projected peak of COVID-19 cases later this month and mitigate the possibility of widespread absences due to isolation and quarantine measures,” Vice President for Student Affairs Lisa Nagy wrote in the email.
The university encourages students to wear masks and get vaccinated, if they haven’t already done so, to ensure that classes can remain in-person after the virtual start ends. It is requiring students and employees who test positive for the virus to remain in quarantine for at least seven days before returning to campus.
Students who have tested positive or come in contact with someone who has is required to complete a close contact and personal diagnosis form. UTA is limited in its ability to conduct contact tracing because of the high volume of positive cases, according to the email, which makes completing the form even more important.
While planned campus events are expected to continue, the university is asking organizers to move them outdoors or to places where social distancing is possible, when feasible.
“We are taking these actions out of an abundance of caution and must continue to put the health and safety of our Maverick community at the forefront,” Nagy wrote in the email. “Let’s remain vigilant and follow the steps we know protect us from COVID-19 so that we may be together again soon.”