Berklee College Of Music Cancels Classes After COVID Outbreak

BOSTON, MA — Berklee College of Music has canceled its Thursday classes and all instruction will be taught fully remotely until Thanksgiving break as the school experiences a COVID-19 outbreak.

Remote instruction is scheduled through Tuesday, Nov. 23, the school announced on Thursday. It will last until students leave for the holidays — according to Berklee's academic calendar, students' Thanksgiving break begins on Wednesday, Nov. 24.

Additionally, all student appointments with staff and faculty will occur remotely over the affected days, officials said.

"Due to our careful testing protocols, we detected a recent uptick in positive cases of COVID-19 in our student population," Berklee president Erica Muhl said. "Our faculty and staff positivity rates have remained low; we attribute the rise in student cases to off-campus student gatherings."

Muhl said the school's campus is still open and its community-wide positivity rate is "well below" the current rate in Boston and in Massachusetts. According to Berklee's COVID-19 dashboard, 37 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since Nov. 10.

During the remote learning period, essential campus operations — such as residence halls and dining facilities — will remain open under the school's current masking protocols, and officials said administrative offices will remain in operation.

School officials intend to return to in-person instruction on Monday, Nov. 29, Muhl said.

Berklee's vaccination rate is currently 96.9 percent, and Muhl said the school is "continuing to investigate and monitor the situation" and will provide updates.

Berklee's home state is experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases, as well — on Wednesday, Massachusetts reported 2,650 new cases, the most since 3,004 cases were reported on Feb. 7.