At University of California, Davis, Chancellor Gary S. May faced a strong negative reaction after a Dec. 30 statement in which he characterized the Omicron variant as “milder” and suggested a shift to “living with Covid-19 at an endemic level.”
The Coronavirus Pandemic: Latest Updates
- Maskless and inaccurate on the court.
- Judges retire to deliberate over whether Djokovic can stay in Australia.
- CVS and Walgreens temporarily shut some stores as Omicron cases soar.
Classes were expected to resume in person on Jan. 10. But a petition signed by 7,500 people, referencing Dr. May’s use of the term “endemic,” accused the university of “not prioritizing the immuno-compromised, the disabled, unvaccinated people, children, those who live with people from any of these groups, or the general health of the public.”
Most in-person classes have been delayed until Jan. 31. “People were sharing their concerns, and the campus leaders listened,” said Julia Ann Easley, a spokeswoman for the university, who also noted a growing Covid-19 case count on campus.
Rice University, with 8,000 students, moved many classes to remote instruction this month and encouraged students to delay returning to campus until late January. And, like many schools, it recently required students and employees to get booster shots.
Yet its president, David W. Leebron, sees his campus, in Houston, soon entering what he called a “posture that recognizes Covid-19 as endemic.”