Due to the new Omicron variant, there has been a surge in new Covid-19 cases across the country and the Pittsburgh region. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. reported a record of more than 1 million new coronavirus cases on Monday, Jan 3, 2022. 

In the Pittsburgh region, both new cases and hospitalization rates are surging. According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (1), "[c]ases of COVID-19 in Allegheny County have more than doubled over the last two weeks, and hospitalizations continue to climb around the state near rates not seen since the height of the pandemic last winter." 

Such a situation is not ideal for starting the spring semester in person, even with CMU's COVID vaccine mandate. Although vaccination can protect people from the Covid-19 virus, breakthrough cases are becoming increasingly common. As reported by NBC Boston (2), there are "45,029 new breakthrough bases in Mass., more than doubling week over week". Increasing breakthrough cases means that the new variant is dangerous to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Therefore, we urge the school to start the spring semester remotely for the safety of the entire Carnegie Mellon community. This is a common practice already announced by many universities. For example, the University of Pittsburgh has already announced that it will start the first two and a half weeks of class remotely (3). Other universities, such as some University of California campuses (4), also will "delay their return to on-campus learning in early 2022, switching to remote instruction for at least the first two weeks."

Sources:

1) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2022/01/04/Pennsylvania-coronavirus-covid-19-update-cases-deaths-hospitalizations-nearing-all-time-high/stories/202201040098
2) https://www.nbcboston.com/news/coronavirus/45029-new-breakthrough-cases-in-mass-more-than-doubling-week-over-week/2604986/
3) https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/12/30/pitt-remote-classes-spring-2022/
4) https://www.modbee.com/news/local/turlock/article256778017.html