Providence College extends online learning to Oct. 3 amid case cluster

Updated at 4:23 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2020.

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE'S number of positive COVID-19 cases since Sept. 14 has risen to 219. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE'S number of positive COVID-19 cases since Sept. 14 has risen to 219. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

PROVIDENCE – There will be at least another week of online learning at Providence College.

The college announced Friday that it will be extending the requirement for all students, both living on campus and off, to take their classes remotely until Oct. 3 and the stay-at-home directive for students will remain in effect as the COVID-19 outbreak at PC, while showing fewer daily cases, is continuing.

As of Friday, PC identified 219 cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak began Sept. 14, including 36 cases in people who were tested off campus and were reported to the college by the R.I. Department of Health. This week, PC saw 51 total cases out of 2,303 combined tests conducted on Sept. 22, Sept. 23 and Thursday, a positive rate of 2.2%. Most of the cases identified at PC were from students who live off campus.

The outbreak prompted the college to first have only off-campus students take classes remotely on Sept. 16 until further notice and then moved to full online learning two days later.

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Daily cases at PC have declined over the last week since the college identified 67 cases out of 1,101 tests on Sept. 16. According to PC’s COVID-19 data portal, daily cases ranged as low as three on Sept. 21 to as high 22 on Sept. 22 – there were no tests conducted on campus on Sept. 20.

PC spokesperson Steven Maurano said in an email Friday that the college is “constantly” reassessing the option to keep online learning in place for the rest of the semester as, “a number of people have suggested it.”

“We’re looking at the testing data and we’re talking daily with the R.I. Department of Health,” Maurano told Providence Business News Friday. “If we collectively feel that [going full remote the rest of the semester] is the proper path to take, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Maurano said PC will reassess the situation late next week.

PC also offered an apology for its part in “exacerbating COVID-19 positivity rates in the State, and for putting the health of residents at risk,” Maurano said. He also said the college is aware that the 02908 zip code in the city has had one of the “highest incidences of COVID-19 positivity.”

The college administration is still working with partners, including the Providence Police Department and local landlords, to investigate and “aggressively” respond to reports of off-campus gatherings or parties, while on-campus activities will remain restricted. Maurano said there may be some increased enforcement, but the college is still working through that to see what else the college should be doing.

If students and parents don’t comply with the mandates, it may result in “permanent separation” from PC, Maurano said in the email.

On Wednesday, during her weekly COVID-19 press conference, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo pointed the finger at both PC and the University of Rhode Island for the recent increases in cases, which put the Ocean State above the 10 cases per 100,000 people per day threshold that put Rhode Island on the travel advisory list for New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.

The governor claimed on Wednesday that if it wasn’t for the case counts at the two colleges, Rhode Island’s overall case numbers would have declined last week.

“I’m sure the administrators at PC are asking themselves ‘what should we have done,’” said Raimondo, and said the college did not have adequate systems in place before the outbreak, but also said PC is now doing better. “I wish the college was more proactive.”

Maurano said that Raimondo is “entitled to her opinion” and that he declined further comment on the governor’s statement from Wednesday.

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette. PBN reporter Alexa Gagosz contributed to this story.

This story has been updated to include the college’s extension of online classes and Thursday’s test numbers.

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