A female Brooklyn College student has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, causing the university’s president to cancel all classes and shutter the Flatbush campus.
“I write to inform you that a member of the Brooklyn College community tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) this evening,” said Michelle J. Anderson in a post on the school’s website on March 12. “The student is in the hospital under medical care, and our thoughts are with her for a full and speedy recovery.”
The student was last present at the school on March 3, but did not develop symptoms until two days later, Anderson said.
“Because she was asymptomatic at the time she was last on campus, the risk to our community is low,” Anderson said. “However, out of an abundance of caution, Brooklyn College will be closed tomorrow, Friday, March 13. All students, staff, faculty, and visitors should NOT come to any of the College’s buildings.”
School administrators have notified the student’s classmates, and have begun the process of deep cleaning the areas where she had been, according to Anderson, who did not specify when the school would resume operations.
The college’s closure comes after the CUNY and SUNY school systems declared a full transition to remote learning for the remainder of the spring semester starting March 18.
Meanwhile, a slew of city officials have called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to close K-12 public schools in the five boroughs — with some Brooklyn politicians advocating for a “summer school” approach that would close most schools, and use a few remaining buildings to serve at-risk students.
