Appalachian State University is pushing back the return to campus schedule after a spike in Watauga County's COVID-19 cases.
Remote classes for the spring semester at Appalachian will begin as scheduled January 19. But in-person classes have been postponed until Feb. 1, and students will be informed about when they can return to their residence halls.
In a message to the Appalachian community, university officials say modeling data suggest a surge of COVID cases in the western part of the state in the next two weeks.
Last week, the university conducted more than 800 tests with 26 positive results. That's the highest positivity rate at the school since October.
UNC Charlotte also recently announced a delay in the return to campus until Feb. 22. Online classes will begin as scheduled on Jan. 20.
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