Seton Hall University Switching to All Remote Starting Today; Men's Basketball Suspended

by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 10:31am

IMAGE: Seton Hall University

This morning Dr. Joseph E. Nyre, Seton Hall University President, announced that the school will be changing to all remote learning for the remainder of the semester. The university is basing its decision on the alarmingly fast growing rate of Covid-19 cases within New Jersey and especially in Essex County. 
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Nyre expressed that all three campuses will begin learning remotely begining today:

• South Orange
• Newark
• Nutley/Clifton
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The announcement follows yesterday's news that the Seton Hall Pirates Men's Basketball team has suspended all activities due to positive COVID-19 test results among the program's student-athletes, coaches, staff and managers.

Seton Hall University's Winter semester begins on Jan. 5. 

Further Reading: 

• Essex County, NJ, ​Covid-19 Case Report on Children and Young Adults
  

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Dr. Joseph E. Nyre
President Seton Hall University
Nov. 12, 2020

​​"It is clear that the pandemic’s anticipated “second wave” has arrived throughout the nation, state and region. New Jersey’s coronavirus infections continue to rise quickly, and counties in North Jersey are seeing marked increases in positive cases. Current statewide positive tests are approaching levels not seen since April’s outbreak peak. The United States now has seen more than 10 million cases and is adding more than 100,000 a day. Our University has experienced an increase in positive cases as well."

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The university announced the following: ​

• Residence halls will remain open until Thanksgiving.
  
  
• All students should get tested at the school's health center before returning to their homes.
  
  
• All food services will be take-out only starting on Saturday.
  
  
• Any scheduled in-student events will take place remotely only
  
  
• Enhanced cleaning and sanitization throughout the school will continue
  
  
• The campus remains open with the limited in-person staff that's been working since August

Dr. Joseph E. Nyre
President Seton Hall University
Nov. 12, 2020

"We are grateful for the efforts of our entire University and all the work each of you has put into keeping our community safe as we arrive on the verge of the Thanksgiving holidays. Your sacrifices demonstrate the resilience of the Seton Hall University community in so many ways.

​Throughout the semester, Seton Hall has been guided by our Restart Plan, which reflects countless hours of contingency modeling, discussion, review and updating by more than 140 members of the Seton Hall community who served on various committees.

​The State of New Jersey-approved plan was designed to be inherently flexible and accommodate any emerging scenario. As Seton Hall has done since the beginning of the pandemic, we have continued to incorporate the latest public health data and expert guidance into our planning. The health and well-being of our students, faculty, clergy, administration, and staff, as well as the community at large, continues to guide our decision-making."

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Today's announcement may have also been in response to the amount of positive test results coming from the Men's Basketball players and staff. 

Kevin Willard
Seton Hall Head Men's Basketball Coach 

"The Seton Hall men's basketball team has paused all team activities due to positive COVID-19 test results among the program's "Tier 1" personnel, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, staff and managers.​​

Our priority throughout this pandemic has been the health and safety of our community. We are currently following all state, local and University guidelines in response to these positive cases.

​Our number one concern is that we keep everyone safe and healthy. Since we returned to campus in July, we have been diligent in following protocols and rigorously tested with no positives until this point. But as we've seen throughout the country and here locally, COVID-19 cases are on the rise and unfortunately it has reached our program. We will continue to monitor the situation and we look forward to resuming our preparation for the season when it is safe to do so."

Essex County data is reported daily by West Essex Now here. ​