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Naval Academy goes back to remote learning amid rise in COVID cases

While the academy heads back to remote learning, the University of Maryland at College Park started back in-person learning on Monday.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The U.S. Naval Academy says it’s returning classes to remote learning because there’s been an uptick in coronavirus cases.

The Capital Gazette reports that the change took effect Sunday and will be in place for at least 10 days.

New restrictions also include students eating all of their meals in dorm rooms. Midshipmen will be permitted up to two hours a day of outdoor physical activity daily. And they can only have one roommate. All sports practices and events are suspended with the exception of varsity women’s and men’s basketball. 

Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean Buck said there are still too many unknowns with COVID-19 to take the situation lightly. He said health and safety is his highest priority.  

The Naval Academy started its 2020-21 academic year in a hybrid learning model that mixed in-person and remote learning.

While the Naval Academy heads back to remote learning, the University of Maryland at College Park (UMD) started back in-person learning on Monday after having its students "sequester in place" amid COVID-19 case upticks on the campus in Prince George's County.

UMD's announcement says the number of cases has slowed and the testing positive rate is low. But new cases reported daily to the school remains high compared to earlier in February. 

The University's COVID-19 Dashboard reported 95 new cases the week of Feb. 14 to Feb. 20. That does not include 121 unverified tests that were self-reported by people who had been on the UMD campus or the greater College Park area in the last 14 days.

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