NEW ORLEANS — Tulane students will return to campus next months, school officials announced Monday.
The decision comes as Louisiana faces a resurgence of coronavirus cases, with more than 10,0000 cases reported in the past week.
According to Tulane University President Michael Fitts, Senior Vice President and Provost Robin Forman and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Office Patrick Norton, the school will follow state, local and federal guidelines as it drafts a plan for students to return.
“Returning to campus means that we will be able to connect with old friends again and make new ones," the school leaders said in a university-wide email to students and staff. "We will be able to collaborate, explore and discover once more, in person. We will have the chance to teach, learn, work, play and grow together in the familiar spaces we know so well."
The message outlined some of the steps Tulane has promised to take ahead of the fall semester.
All students, faculty and staff will have to take a free COVID-19 test provided by the school before stepping on campus for the first time. Re-testing will be done throughout the school year by the Tulane School of Medicine.
The school said it would enforce basic restrictions such as wearing face coverings in public areas such as classrooms, social distancing and frequent hand washing.
Each student and staff member will be given a pair of face masks for the semester.
And school officials said they have inspected every campus building to determine a maximum occupancy that would allow for social distancing, building 13 temporary classrooms and several other facilities to accommodate more spread-out learning.
Some classes will be taught remotely, according to the school.
Universities and K-12 school districts around Louisiana and the country are struggling with the question of reopening for in-person classes. For many Louisiana districts, parents are being asked to choose between in-person or distance learning for their children.
The University of New Orleans decided in May that they would open up for the fall, saying students would learn through a combination of remote and in-person classes.
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