Pfeiffer has no active coronavirus cases for the first time in months

Published 4:53 pm Tuesday, October 27, 2020

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For the first time since mid-August, shortly after the school year began, Pfeiffer University has no active coronavirus cases on campus.

Casey Habich, director of marketing and communications for the university, said the last two remaining active cases — both students — have since recovered.

“We do not have any active cases on campus (including both students and staff) and we do not have any students in quarantine,” Habich said.

He noted that Pfeiffer Director of Residence Life Regina Simmons relayed the news to him and other staff in an email Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the semester, Pfeiffer has had 42 reported coronavirus cases. Due to an increase in cases at the end of September, the school shifted all in-person classes to online for two weeks. The in-person classes resumed Oct. 12.

Habich emphasized that it’s been a team effort to ensure the safety of all students and staff on campus, especially during the two weeks of remote learning, when there were more than a dozen active cases and more than 100 students were in quarantine.

“Our student development staff really went above and beyond to make sure students were still receiving the services that they would expect,” he said. “Our faculty were very nimble in shifting to online learning and accommodating students in quarantine.”

In order to make sure students still had the necessary social interaction with each other and to capitalize on the cool fall weather, Pfeiffer has held more events outside, including setting up outdoor dining tables on the quad. Schedules have also been restructured, Habich said, with many classes being moved to different locations, including the chapel, to better accommodate for social distancing.

The university has “focused on where we can be effective and where we can still engage and connect as a campus community but still also be safe and be cognizant that we have to stay diligent in our efforts to keep everyone’s health and safety at the forefront,” Habich said.

Due to a compressed academic calendar, students will be going home for the semester in about four weeks, with online classes resuming after the Thanksgiving break.

“If we can make it four more weeks without any new positive cases, we will end the semester with no active cases,” Habich said.

 

 

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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