While Cornell University sent out offers of admission to Early Decision applicants this week, let’s hope there isn’t a spike in emergency room admissions in Ithaca. The Ivy League institution is grappling with a Covid-19 crisis as there are reports of over 900 Covid-19 cases on Cornell’s Ithaca campus, likely due to the spread of the Omicron variant. In fact, the surge in Covid-19 cases has led Cornell to temporarily shut down its main campus. Final exams for the semester have been switched to online. Extracurriculars and athletics have been canceled. It’s feeling a lot like 2020 in Ithaca!

As Elizabeth Stuart reports for CNN in a piece entitled “Cornell University reports more than 900 Covid-19 cases this week. Many are Omicron variant cases in fully vaccinated students,” “The school has a mandatory vaccination policy for students, with exemptions for religious or medical issues. All unvaccinated students and many vaccinated students are required to take part in surveillance testing. Mask wearing indoors is compulsory.Employees must be vaccinated by January 18. Ninety-seven percent of people on campus are fully vaccinated, the university says on its website. ‘Cornell is not requiring members of our community to receive a booster at this time; however, as breakthrough cases continue to occur, we encourage you to consider receiving a booster,’ officials said. Cornell’s last day of classes was December 7 and its final exam period is scheduled from December 11-18, according to its online academic calendar.”

We’ll be monitoring the developments on Cornell‘s campus as well as on other college campuses across the nation in the coming days. Will other elite universities be shutting their doors as we approach the holidays due to the spread of the Omicron variant? Only time will tell. Stay tuned.