TUCSON, Ariz. - University of Arizona is closing for Thanksgiving break soon and urging students to stay home until the Spring semester starts in January. University leaders hope students---and everyone will take steps to avoid spreading COVID-19.
When the Thanksgiving break ends UArizona will be back to virtual classes until Spring to reduce the chance students will bring the virus back from their travels. To prepare students to visit their families, the University’s worked to test as many students as possible, but University President Doctor Robert Robbins cautions that testing negative does not mean it’s okay to drop masks, handwashing and other COVID precautions. He wants everyone to be extremely cautious over the break.
“This means don't travel, if you don't have to, don't do it. Just don't travel, if at all possible. If you do travel, including going home for from your student residence quarantine after arriving, that's gonna be really hard for you to do, but when you get there, just kind of keep yourself separated from everyone else,.”
Doctor Robbins sees value in the idea of curfews to reduce the potential for people to mix, mingle and infect each other. He says the University could be forced to return to tighter restrictions in the Spring semester and while he sees news about vaccine results as encouraging he says it will take so long to vaccinate enough people to suppress the virus that it could be another year before University life is back to normal.
“I'm talking about January of ‘22 before I think we're gonna have. And I'm hoping that this will be the case that we'll be playing basketball and McHale was Zona Zoo being there and students, jumping up and down and having a good time. But, you know, we'll see.”
