During its weekly press conference Monday, the University of Arizona announced it may begin to welcome more students back to its classrooms as data shows COVID-19 transmission in the state and country are declining.
This means the university could enter Stage 2 of its re-entry process as early as Feb. 22 if public health conditions permit, said University President Robert Robbins.
Currently only about 3,900 students are coming to campus for essential, in-person classes. Under Stage 2, the number of students coming to campus could double as classes of up 50 students or less would be allowed to meet in-person, Robbins said.
"We are pretty confident that we can move forward slowly, watch the numbers, make sure in the classroom that we keep all these mitigation efforts in place," he said.
Robbins also announced that students living in the residence halls will no longer be required to get COVID-19 tests twice a week, and instead can return to getting tested once a week.
He reminded students that weekly COVID-19 testing is required to attend classes in-person. Beginning next week, failure to do so could result in losing access to the campus Wi-Fi, he said.
“It’s very simple. Get a test just once a week, your Wi-Fi will remain functioning just like you like it," Robbins said.
This system allows the university to hold students accountable without creating a burden for off-campus students who are not required to get weekly testing, he said.
