Stanford moves classes online after faculty member contracts coronavirus

Stanford University will move all of its classes online after a faculty member of the Northern California school tested positive for the novel coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19.

“The university is actively monitoring the local and global health situation and is taking precautionary measures in an effort to help limit the spread of infection,” university officials said in a statement Friday night, according to the Los Angeles Times.

University officials also said that large events would be “canceled or adjusted.”

Stanford is the second university on the West Coast to opt for online classes as fears of a larger outbreak grow.

Earlier on Friday, the University of Washington, which has a student population of more than 50,000, said that its classes would take place online for the next two weeks. The University of Southern California said that it would test out online classes three days next week to see if it’s a viable option.

Washington state continues to be the center of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., with at least 14 deaths there.

Florida health officials Friday night confirmed that two Floridians had died from the virus, becoming the first deaths on the East Coast.

More than 300 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the U.S., while more than 105,000 cases have been reported worldwide.