Cornell shuts down its Ithaca campus after significant signs of omicron variant found

Cornell University is shutting down its Ithaca, N.Y., campus and is moving to "alert level red" — its highest alert level — due to what officials say is a rapid spread of COVID-19 cases among students.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the campus reported 469 active student cases of the coronavirus and that, for the week of Dec. 6, about 3% of tests were positive among the students tested, according to Cornell's online COVID-19 dashboard.

In an online letter to students, Cornell University President Martha Pollack said the campus's COVID-19 testing lab team detected evidence of the omicron variant "in a significant number of Monday's positive student samples."

Because of the closures across campus, Pollack said all final exams for the fall semester will be moved online and all campus activities, including campus athletics, are canceled. The school's libraries are also closed for students.

In addition, the school's recognition ceremony for fall graduates, scheduled for Dec. 18, is canceled.