Penn State says omicron could lead to remote learning in spring semester

As Penn State University officials monitor the spread of the omicron variant, they are urging those in the University Park campus community to prepare to work remotely next semester.

Penn State is planning to begin the spring semester in person. But with local covid-19 hospitalizations at an all-time high and the spread of the omicron variant creating uncertainty, students and some staff may have to alter those plans on short notice.

According to Mount Nittany Medical Center’s covid-19 dashboard, 61 covid patients between the ages of 22 and 95 were being treated Friday, with nine in the ICU and six on ventilators. Forty three of those patients are not vaccinated, according to the dashboard.

The school says it will provide an update on the situation by Dec. 30.

“Our overriding concern remains the health and safety of our campus and local community,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in a University news release. “As I have said throughout the pandemic, the university has developed a number of on-ramps and off-ramps to address the situations that may emerge.”

Barron said the university’s covid-19 Operations Control Center will continue to monitor pandemic conditions over the winter break and will be in touch with local health care and government officials. Penn State’s current semester ends Friday.

“We fully expect to start the spring semester as planned with in-person classes and activities,” he said. “But we also wanted to let the University Park campus community to know that we are continuing to monitor local conditions and are prepared to alter return plans for the semester if deemed necessary.”

Penn State said its commonwealth campuses are all expected to begin the semester in person as planned due to their smaller student enrollment.

If in-person classes are delayed at University Park, faculty members will be allowed to use classrooms to conduct classes remotely and staff members will still be expected to report to work, the university said.