At least eight major colleges have suspended in-person classes and moved to an online format in response to the coronavirus outbreak across the country, including the University of Washington, Ohio University, Harvard University, Hofstra University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and Princeton University, reports NPR.
Globally, more than 100,000 people have been infected by the virus and more than 4,000 people have died in an epidemic that began in Wuhan, China.
"These past few weeks have been a powerful reminder of just how connected we are to one another — and how our choices today determine our options tomorrow," Harvard's president, Lawrence S. Bacow, said in an announcement Tuesday morning.
He added: "The decision to move to virtual instruction was not made lightly."
Harvard University was one of at least three Ivy League universities moving to an online education format, and cancellations have been focused in states and areas hit hardest by the virus, including Washington State, California, and New York.
Other schools suspending in-person classes include Seattle University, New York University, Stanford, MIT, Amherst College, University of California, San Diego, American University in D.C., Hofstra, Columbia, Barnard, and Rice.
Additionally, at least seven universities have suspended programs in Italy and others have canceled programs in South Korea and China, per CNN.