Yeshiva University cancels classes after student confirmed to carry COVID-19
Father of student in serious condition due to coronavirus; his sister, mother and neighbor also infected; hundreds of synagogue members in New Rochelle ordered to self-quarantine
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In an apparent first for a US college, Yeshiva University canceled classes at its Washington Heights campus on Wednesday after a student was found to be carrying the COVID-19 virus, in the sixth confirmed case in the New York City area.
The student’s father was in intensive care due to the disease, according to local news reports, becoming the first to be hospitalized in the state. Hundreds of members of his synagogue, Young Israel of New Rochelle, were ordered into quarantine after his diagnosis, according to the local CBS affiliate.
The man, described as a Westchester County attorney in his 50s, did not recently travel abroad. In addition to his son at Yeshiva University, the man’s wife, teenage daughter, and a neighbor who drove him to the hospital were also infected by the novel coronavirus, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The daughter’s infection prompted the closure of her school, the SAR Academy and SAR High School, both in the Bronx, on Tuesday.
Yeshiva University announced the cancellation of classes on Wednesday morning.
“We have unfortunately received news this morning that our student has tested positive for COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as well as to all those affected,” it said. “We are taking very precaution by canceling all classes on Wilf Campus in Washington Heights for Wednesday March 4, 2020. This includes all in-person graduate courses on that campus as well as at the boys’ high school.”
The Wilf campus is the school’s main campus in Washington Heights, Manhattan, housing the men’s undergraduate school. It also houses the MTA yeshiva high school.
Other school buildings in the Bronx and mid-town Manhattan remained open.
The cancellation of classes at its Wilf campus in New York City appeared to be a first for a US university since the outbreak of the virus. More than 90,000 people have been infected and around 3,200 have died worldwide since the virus erupted in China.
On Tuesday, Yeshiva University said “the student has not been on campus since Thursday, February 27th.”
Westchester Day School and Westchester Torah Academy also closed on Tuesday due to possible coronavirus exposure.
In the US more than 120 cases have been reported. Nine people have died, all in and around Seattle, Washington. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers were expected to finalize an agreement Wednesday on a $7.5 billion emergency bill to fund work on a virus vaccine and other measures.
Agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.