San Diego State University on Wednesday joined the nationwide wave of schools temporarily returning to online instruction due to a historic rise in COVID-19 infections.

The campus says nearly all of its 35,000 students will take online instruction for a two-week period when the spring semester begins Jan. 19.

“San Diego County and the Social Services Agency anticipate a post-holiday peak with the Omicron variant in mid-January,” SDSU said in a statement.

“The temporary start in virtual space will allow the January spike in cases to subside and also provide a window for those who have recently received their COVID-19 reminder an additional two weeks for it to take full effect. »

Cal State San Marcos said Wednesday it will also be shifting classes online for two weeks, beginning Jan. 24. Other CSU campuses — including Los Angeles and Sacramento — have also made the switch. The same is true for most of the nine undergraduate campuses in the University of California system, including UC San Diego.

SDSU reminded its students, staff and faculty on Wednesday that they will need to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 18, if eligible.

The announcement comes a day after SDSU said there would be a need for a COVID-19 reminder for people who want to attend school basketball games at Viejas Arena, starting Jan. 18.

UC San Diego is not allowing spectators to attend campus sporting events until Jan. 18.

ICYMI