University of Toronto cancels all in-person classes across its 3 campuses

The University of Toronto has announced it is cancelling all its in-person classes effective Monday, March 16.

On Friday morning, U of T President Meric Gertler issued the announcement, stating the school will “cancel all in-person undergraduate courses, as well as research-stream masters and doctoral courses, across its three campuses from March 16 to April 3 in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada and around the globe.”

The school said “it will provide that teaching by other means (which may include existing online platforms).”

All in-person teaching scheduled for Friday, March 13, is continuing as planned.

The University says that operations will continue and the campuses will remain open.

Libraries, residences, food services, health & wellness centres, athletics and recreation facilities, and other public spaces on all three campuses will remain open.

“One of the key factors in these decisions is the need to foster a degree of “social distancing,” as recommended by public health authorities. On that front, our goal is to help interrupt the chain of transmission in the wider community, thereby protecting vulnerable individuals and ensuring that our health care system will not become overburdened,” said Gertler.

“We appreciate that the global COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly worrisome and that the changes I have just announced will require very significant adjustments on everyone’s part. But, based on the strength of our bonds as a community and the goodwill that characterizes its members, we are confident that we will meet this challenge successfully.”