KU to begin spring semester in-person as planned, despite COVID surge in Douglas County

The University of Kansas will begin its spring semester with in-person classes as planned, despite the surge in COVID cases causing some universities around the country to return remotely or delay the start of classes.

The semester will start on Tuesday, Jan. 18, KU Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer announced Monday in an email to students, though there may be temporary shifts to an online format depending on an instructor’s need to isolate. Instructors are not obligated to offer online versions of in-person courses for individual students.

“We can expect there will be disruptions that we will need to address as they arise,” Bichelmeyer said in the email. “This spring we will resume with many of the practices that have helped us remain open and responsive to you, other students, our faculty and staff, and our state.”

Masks are still required on campus, and are now required in Allen Fieldhouse after a new Douglas County mandate reversed previous masking suggestions in the sports arena. KU will require a 10-day isolation period for those who test positive for COVID, despite recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling for a five-day quarantine if a patient is asymptomatic or without a fever for 24 hours.

KU asked employees who are sick or caring for sick family members to not report to work, which may impact in-person services on campus in the short-term, Bichelmeyer said.

KU also asked instructors to consider “alternate forms of absence verification,” other than a doctor’s note, to ease the potential burden on Watkins Health Services, KU’s on-campus health facility.

“Our guidance may change as the situation evolves, and I sincerely hope it improves,” Bichelmeyer said.

Douglas County reported 174 new covid cases on Monday, Jan. 10, adding to the nearly 3,300 active cases in the county, according to Lawrence Douglas County Public Health officials. The county’s average positivity rate of covid cases is 19.3% and there are currently 18 covid patients admitted to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 5:32 PM.