{"id":30520,"date":"2022-01-04T15:45:11","date_gmt":"2022-01-04T20:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/?p=30520"},"modified":"2022-01-07T11:35:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T16:35:46","slug":"mdc-moves-forward-with-spring-semester-amidst-covid-19-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/mdc-moves-forward-with-spring-semester-amidst-covid-19-surge\/","title":{"rendered":"MDC Moves Forward With Spring Semester Amidst COVID-19 Surge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami Dade College will move forward with the spring semester on Wednesday, amidst a surging COVID-19 positivity rate that has more than doubled since the end of the fall term.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Dec. 17, the Miami Dade-County\u2019s Daily Dashboard Report recorded a seven-day positivity rate of 13.9. Two weeks later, it’s at a jarring <\/span>28 percent<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe decisions and processes remain the same and are consistent throughout the Florida College System,\u201d said Juan Mendieta, the College\u2019s director of communications.<\/span><\/p>\n

The College said it will continue offering courses in four modalities this semester: MDC-Live, MDC Online, Blended and in-person modalities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel kind of hesitant to go back to campus,\u201d said Jazmin Laughlin, the Homestead Campus student government association president. \u201cI think we should stay online until the cases go down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last Wednesday, the University of Miami announced it would start the spring semester remotely for the first two weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Barry University, St. Thomas University, Florida Memorial University and Florida International University will start in-person classes on Jan. 10 as previously scheduled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At MDC, several staff meetings and welcome back convocations have been moved to a virtual format.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On campus, masks and vaccines are not mandatory but highly encouraged. MDC continues to enforce enhanced cleaning protocols in classrooms, libraries and high-touch areas daily, physical barriers (sneeze guards and plexiglass) are in place and stands with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes are available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that it is safe to go to college as long as you maintain precautions and continue to maintain social distancing in classes and use masks and all of those safety measures that we’ve been using for the past few years,\u201d said Luis Lopez, the Eduardo J. Padr\u00f3n Campus student government association president.<\/span><\/p>\n

In partnership with <\/span>Curative<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u2014an organization that provides accessible COVID-19 testing\u2014 the College placed kiosks at the campuses to offer testing from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments are necessary and can be booked at <\/span>https:\/\/book.curative.com\/search#9\/37.751\/-97.822<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

MDC also announced the new vaccination <\/span>pop-up sites<\/span> for this semester. Here are the new sites:<\/span><\/p>\n