Harvard is asking students not to return to campus after its spring break amid coronavirus concerns.
In a message to faculty and students on Tuesday, the historic American university said it was moving to virtual teaching for both graduate and undergraduate classes in a bid to stop the spread of the novel corona across campus.
“These past few weeks have been a powerful reminder of just how connected we are to one another – and how our choices today determine our options tomorrow,” president Larry Bacow said.
The university's goal is to complete the transition by March 23, it added in the statement posted on its website.
"We are transitioning over the course of the next few days to non-essential gatherings of no more than 25 people," Mr Bacow added.
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Muslim worshippers circumambulate the sacred Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site. Saudi Arabia reopened the area around the Kaaba. AFP -
Empty stands during the Saudi Professional League soccer match between Al Hilal and Al Ettifaq at King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has suspended public attendance of sports competitions over the coronavirus. EPA -
A man wearing a protective mask passes by the Colosseum in Rome. AFP -
A civil defence worker disinfects a window in the Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP -
A civil defence worker disinfects a replica of the Lion of Babylon statue in Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP -
A civil defence worker disinfects a shrine in the Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP -
A municipal worker sprays disinfectant in the old market in Erbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, as a precautionary measure against the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP -
Palestinian volunteers prepare supplies to deliver to a hotel under quarantine in the West Bank city of Bethlehem a day after a lockdown on the city was announced. AFP -
The closed gate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency school in Gaza city. The Palestinian government in Ramallah announced a one-month emergency in response to fears of the spread of Covid-19. EPA -
A Palestinian girl wearing a protective mask waits as her relatives chat on a street in the West Bank city of Hebron amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP -
Maronite priest Majdi Allawi holds the Blessed Sacrament as he blesses Lebanon from an aircraft as protection from disease. AFP -
Members of the Palestinian security forces wearing protective masks stand guard during a football match without fans, amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus, in the West Bank city of Hebron. AFP -
Rescue workers at the site where a hotel being used for coronavirus quarantine collapsed in the south-east Chinese port city of Quanzhou, Fujian province. Reuters -
The Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament opens without spectators amid the coronavirus outbreak, in western Japan. EPA -
A view of a thermal scanning checkpoint manned by security personnel at the entrance to Gardens by the Bay's Cloud Forest in Singapore. Reuters -
Medical staff members wearing protective gear carry a patient infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus at a hospital in Seoul, South Korea AFP -
A doctor comforts a pregnant woman infected with coronavirus at an isolation ward in Xiehe Hospital in Wuhan, China. AFP -
An immigration officer checks a woman's temperature at Francisco Paula Santander International Bridge, in Cucuta, Colombia, at the border with Venezuela. AFP -
A woman walks inside an isolated area on Truc Bach street in Hanoi. AFP
The move follows other educational institutions making adjustments due to the global outbreak. Columbia suspended classes for two days after an individual linked to the school was exposed to the virus, while Princeton is moving classes online starting March 23.
The news came as the top US public health official warned that the country’s outbreak of coronavirus was likely to get worse.
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said people should assess their personal circumstances when deciding whether to cancel travel plans or avoid public gatherings.
The virus, which can cause a sometimes fatal flu-like respiratory illness, has steadily spread in the United States this week, disrupting life and spooking investors who worry that a contraction in economic activity could trigger a recession.
"Not every community has an outbreak going on right now, but people should know that this is likely to get worse before it gets better," Mr Adams said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" program.
A total of 755 confirmed cases of the coronavirus were confirmed nationwide as of Tuesday morning, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. There have been 26 coronavirus-related deaths in the country, most of them in Washington state.
The Trump administration has been criticized for a slow response to the public health crisis and is under growing pressure to do more to help workers and companies hurt by the outbreak and to boost investors' confidence in the economy.
After US stock indexes recorded their biggest one-day selloff since 2008 on Monday, President Donald Trump said his administration would take "major" steps to gird the economy and discuss a possible payroll tax cut with congressional Republicans on Tuesday.
He did not provide details but said a news briefing would be held on Tuesday.
