Holy Cross planning on bringing students back for spring semester

Photo | Grant Welker College of the Holy Cross in Worcester

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College of the Holy Cross is planning to hold its spring semester in-person on the Worcester campus, despite rising coronavirus case numbers this fall.

Holy Cross said in a message to students Friday it will hold courses on campus "barring a significant downturn in health and safety conditions." The fall semester has been held online, but Michele Murray, the school's vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said Holy Cross has learned from having a small number of students on campus and from peer institutions who opened fully this fall.

"And, just as importantly, the students, faculty and staff accessing campus have learned to live within the new regulations and guidelines," Murray said.

All residential students and students who live locally will be required to submit a negative test 72 hours prior to returning to campus. The college requires everyone on campus to wear a mask.

The spring semester is slated to start Feb. 1. The campus said it had one positive coronavirus case as of Tuesday.

Holy Cross initially planned on having its fall semester on campus but reversed course about three weeks before the semester, as cases in the state slowly began ticking upward from a midsummer low. Cases have risen far more sharply recently, with more than 8,000 new cases statewide in the past week and nearly 900 in Worcester County — in both cases, the highest such numbers since May.

Holy Cross canceled its fall athletics programs, including football, but has scheduled a start of ice hockey season Nov. 20. The college announced Tuesday that its men's and women's basketball programs would begin play Jan. 2.

The spring semester will be the last for the Rev. Philip Boroughs as Holy Cross president, as he has announced he'll step down from the role after nine years leading the school.