Classes will be canceled for the entire week after spring break amid concerns about the new coronavirus outbreak, President Renu Khator announced late Thursday. 

The University will remain open but faculty and staff will have the option to work remotely, Khator said via Twitter. 

Classes will resume online on March 23. 

“I understand that these precautionary measures may be inconvenient and disappointing to you, but we hope these efforts can help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Khator said in an email sent to students, faculty and staff. “Your health and safety are our priority.”

Students living on campus are encouraged by UH to stay home but the residence halls will remain open.  

Facilities will be maintained using “aggressive sanitization and hygiene protocols” and there will be hand sanitizer dispensers at all entrances, common areas and elevators, according to UH.

The University said via Twitter that there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus at UH.

UH’s Sugar Land and Katy campuses will remain open and “all offices and services will continue to operate.”

The move comes after other Texas colleges, like Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University, suspended classes. The University is discouraging large gatherings of more than 50 people until the end of March.

It’s unclear at this time whether Frontier Fiesta, which was scheduled to occur March 19-21, will still go on.

Frontier Fiesta did not immediately respond to request for comment.

City officials also canceled the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Thursday after a Montgomery County man who had not traveled abroad recently tested positive for the virus after visiting the rodeo barbecue cook-off, indicating community spread. 

Donna Keeya Contributed reporting. 

news@thedailycougar.com

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“UH suspends classes until March 23” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar