"We've seen troubling reports of students congregating
on college campuses, so we are setting a threshold that says if colleges have
100 cases or if the number of cases equal 5 percent of their population or
more, they must go to remote learning for two weeks, at which time we will
reassess the situation," Governor Cuomo said. "We should anticipate
clusters and that's what we're seeing. Be prepared for it, get ahead of
it."
Schools must return to remote learning with limited
on-campus activity when that threshold is reached for a two-week period. If
after two weeks, the local health department finds the college has demonstrated
that it cannot contain the number of cases, then they could continue to require
remote learning, or impose other mitigation measures in consultation with the
State Department of Health. During that time, athletic activities and other
extracurricular activities must be suspended, and dining hall options must move
to take-out only.
If clusters of positive cases emerge on particular areas of
a campus while still below 5 percent or under 100 students, but strain the
college's ability to isolate and contact trace, the college must return to 100
percent distance learning with limited on-campus activity. The local department
of health or State Department of Health may order colleges to suspend on-campus
activities upon a finding of the college's inability to control the outbreak,
even under the metric.
