UVA Wise will delay fall semester start

August 07, 2020

The University of Virginia’s College at Wise announced Monday that it will delay the start of the fall 2020 semester by two weeks and will mail at-home COVID-19 test kits to students before they arrive on campus.

Classes will now begin on Aug. 26 instead of Aug. 12, and residential students who have not yet returned to Wise will wait until Aug. 19 for their staggered and prescheduled move in to campus housing. Convocation will be held on Aug. 25.

“The steady increase in positive tests in Virginia and across the nation is a concern for us,” Chancellor Donna P. Henry said. “We have students from across the commonwealth and from other states who will arrive soon. We feel that increasing the amount of testing will help us know more about what we are dealing with and will help us better manage the situation.”

On Monday, the college said, it tested 71 students who already returned to campus and tested employees who have had close contact with those students. University of Virginia Health Services administered 175 tests. Tests results should be available later this week. Those tested on Monday will quarantine until the test results are available.

Tests will be mailed to students and the at-home tests will be sent to the lab that works with UVA. Students who are not yet on campus but test positive will be asked to remain at home until 10 days after diagnosis or three days after symptoms clear without medication, whichever is longer.