The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley announced that courses that were set to be in person might be changed to incorporate a hybrid model due to the current wave of COVID-19 cases.
Earlier this year, as vaccination rates were going up, UTRGV announced students would have the option to have regular in-person classes. UTRGV said if students registered for a traditional class, the professor will have the opportunity to use a mix of online and face to face.
“We hope that this flexibility will help reduce our on-campus population, as we continue to monitor this current wave in COVID-19 cases,” the announcement reads.
UTRGV said since there are currently no local, state, or national COVID-19 health mandates that enable them to require UTRGV community members to wear face coverings, practice social distancing, or get vaccinated it is more critical than ever that students, staff and faculty make decisions that are informed and follow proven and effective best-mitigation practices.
“The safest and most effective way to protect yourself from COVID-19 infection is to get vaccinated,” the statement reads.
“To do this, please log on to the UTRGV vaccine portal and schedule an appointment or simply walk into our student and/or employee health clinics in Brownsville, Edinburg, or Harlingen.”
The surge of the delta variant has also increased the demand for COVID-19 testing. UT Health RGV continues to provide testing for the campus community.
Those in need of a test, need to fill out the preliminary COVID-19 screening form. Filling out the form alerts the COVID-19 Response Team which was created last year to help UTRGV better assess and manage COVID-19 cases on campus.
“Once a person fills out the form, the team will provide guidance for the testing process and will manage your case throughout,” the announcement reads.
“If the test returns a positive result, the team will provide recovery guidance for the infected individual and conduct contact tracing to ensure that those who may have been in contact with the person are contacted and properly advised, based on CDC guidance.”
For more information about testing, email [email protected].
