University of Wyoming close to reinstating spring break

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A new proposal by the University of Wyoming's administration would reinstate a spring break that was previously canceled.

University President Ed Seidel told the Board of Trustees Wednesday that the new schedule would rearrange scheduling for the spring semester and allow for a spring break from March 31 to April 4. Students would then resume classes virtually until the end of the semester.

The school had previously canceled spring break due to complications spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The proposal was introduced as part of an overview on the university's plan for the spring semester. The school said it intends for the first two days of classes beginning on Jan. 21 to be online.

Seidel said one of the biggest lessons from the fall reopening was the importance on slowly returning to in-person instruction.

The university had stopped its initial reopening plan when, almost as soon as students began returning to campus, five students tested positive for the coronavirus.

It took almost two more weeks to get the reopening plan back in order.

The university will continue to test every undergraduate student twice a week and every graduate student and employee once a week.

There have been 1,789 new confirmed coronavirus cases among university students and employees since the beginning of the fall semester.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some - especially older adults and people with existing health problems - it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.