The University of New Brunswick campus in Fredericton. Image: UNB.ca
Thousands of post-secondary students in New Brunswick will start the new year learning remotely due to COVID-19.
The University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University, and Mount Allison University are delaying the start of in-person classes by two weeks.
In-person classes at all three universities are now scheduled to begin on Jan. 24 instead of Jan. 10.
Students living in residence are encouraged to study from home, if possible, until in-person classes resume.
The move comes amid increased cases of COVID-19 in the province and concerns about the Omicron variant. Both UNB and St. Thomas University said the decision was made after consultations with Public Health.
Modelling shown Tuesday by Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, indicates when Omicron replaces Delta as the dominant strain in the province, COVID-19 infections could double every three days.
At that pace, New Brunswick could see up to 250 new cases every day by early January and as many as 400 new cases by the end of January.
Meanwhile, l’Université de Moncton said most of its classes will be delivered remotely from Jan. 10 to 14, with in-person classes set to resume Jan. 17.
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