BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (NCC News) — Binghamton University announced Wednesday the school is suspending in-person classes for the next two weeks due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. However, the campus will stay open and core operations of the University will continue.
“Residences halls remain open, students are able to utilize any critical campus resources; the libraries, classrooms that are set aside for student study spaces are going to remain open,” Senior Director of Media and Public Relations Ryan Yarosh said. “Medical services, counseling, all those services will continue as usual.”
Dining halls at Binghamton are now carry-out only. All in-person athletic activities have been suspended for 14 days. Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger also recommended students limit their social circles and travel only when it is essential.
The SUNY school is on the verge of the 100 case mark. New York State has mandated colleges must transition to remote-only learning for 14 days if they exceed 100 individuals or 5 percent of the total on-campus population testing positive. In a press conference today, school and Broome County officials said this was a proactive measure.
“Binghamton is currently at 89 cases and the previous two-week period had only 25, so this is potentially only one blip,” SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said. “The rolling average has gone up, but it looks like it’s trending down again, so we have to manage those cases as they come.”
The 89 cases are from students, faculty and staff. Binghamton’s COVID-19 Dashboard listed three positive results yesterday out of more than 250 tests. The positivity rate was 1.2 percent. New York data shows Tuesday’s statewide positivity rate was slightly higher at 1.3 percent.
Broome County, where SUNY Binghamton is located, is facing rising COVID-19 numbers too. Tuesday’s figures from the state reveal a 6.1 percent positivity rate. It’s the highest single-day rate in Broome since the end of April, according to New York data. County Executive Jason Garnar said the rise of positive cases is not exclusively a SUNY Binghamton problem.
“I believe what’s happened with the University’s numbers is because of what’s happening in the community, not the other way around,” he said. “The average age of a positive person in Broome County is 40, so it’s not students on campus, but we support what the University is doing.”
Binghamton University is home to nearly 14,000 undergraduates. School officials say they’ll make a decision after the 14-day period as to whether or not in-person classes will resume.
