By Rayna Song
EVANSTON — Northwestern University confirmed Saturday the second case of COVID-19 at the school is a staff member in the Office of the Registrar on the Evanston campus, according to an email sent to the Northwestern community.
The first reported case is an employee in the Kellogg School of Management on the Evanston campus, according to an email sent Friday to the Northwestern community.
Both individuals are self-isolating off campus, and University medical teams and leadership are reaching out to members of the NU community who may have had contact with the individuals to ask them to self-quarantine.
A University spokesperson was unable to provide NNN with the number of people asked to self-quarantine following the first reported case at NU.
This week, the University announced the extension of spring break by one week. Spring quarter will begin with at least three weeks of online courses. University housing and dining halls will stay open for students who cannot leave campus.
Students are no longer required to attend winter quarter exams in person, and Northwestern University is banning all gatherings of 50 people or more that occur in spaces too small for the social distancing of 6 feet between each person recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.
All student performances have been canceled for the remainder of winter quarter. In addition, recreational facilities including Henry Crown Sports Pavilion will be closed until further notice. The Big Ten Conference canceled all competitions through the end of the academic year.
“The season basically ends now,” said Rou Yin, a Weinberg freshman on the women’s golf team. “For golf, spring is our biggest season, all the hard work we did this year is gone… and I feel really bad for our seniors. They lost their chance to finish their last experience.”
Yin also said some students would have a more difficult time taking online classes and she hopes professors will work to accommodate these students.
“I’m worried about my language classes, because so much of that comes from immersion and that can’t really happen as well virtually,” said Bienen freshman Will Tanski.
Tanski said although music theory classes may be manageable online, other Bienen classes may prove more difficult.
“Voice lessons and ensembles are going to have a tough time working well,” he said.
University officials are posting updates here.