COVID-19: Harvard Business School Moves Courses Online After Surge In Breakthrough Cases

Some students at the Harvard Business School will temporarily be transitioning to remote learning this week as it contends with a surge in breakthrough COVID-19 cases on campus.

The school in Boston will go remote for first-year MBA and some second-year students through Sunday, Oct. 3 due to a rise in newly confirmed cases, despite the majority of students and staff being vaccinated.

According to the school, approximately 95 percent of students and more than 96 percent of staff are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Students have been advised by school officials to avoid unmasked indoor events, group travel, and gathering with anyone outside their homes. Students on campus will also be subject to additional mandatory COVID-19 testing, regardless of their vaccination status.

“In recent days, we’ve seen a steady rise in breakthrough infections among our student population, despite high vaccination rates and frequent testing business school spokesperson Mark Cautela said in a statement.

"Contact tracers who have worked with positive cases highlight that transmission is not occurring in classrooms or other academic settings on campus,” he continued. “Nor is it occurring among individuals who are masked.”

Harvard is reporting that 87 students are currently isolating due to possible COVID-19 exposure, while 28 are in quarantine.