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Princeton University has notified students that "personal travel" outside the county or township is not allowed until at least mid-February due to an increase in coronavirus omicron variant cases.
Princeton University's Dean Jill Dolan and Vice President. W. Rochelle Calhoun announced on Monday that students are barred from traveling outside of Mercer County or Plainsboro Township, where Princeton University is located.
"Beginning January 8 through mid-February, all undergraduate students who have returned to campus will not be permitted to travel outside of Mercer County or Plainsboro Township for personal reasons, except in extraordinary circumstances," the administration officials announced.
The officials said that the travel policy will be in place from Jan. 8 until at least Feb. 15.
PRINCETON STUDENT SAYS HIS COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 'BASICALLY RUINED BY COVID'
Princeton, New Jersey - April 14, 2017: People wander around the Princeton University Campus during early spring. (iStock)
"Student groups that currently have events planned for outside Mercer or Plainsboro should contact their sponsoring office for guidance. We’ll revisit and, if possible, revise this travel restriction by February 15," they continued.
Fox News asked Princeton University to define what "extraordinary circumstances" would allow students to leave Mercer County or Plainsboro Township. The university did not respond by press time.
The officials also announced a "gradual return" to campus for undergraduate students, which will begin a week later than originally anticipated.
OMICRON COVID-19 VARIANT: CORNELL, PRINCETON SHIFT TO REMOTE FORMAT
Blair Hall on the campus of Princeton University. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images) ((Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images))
"Updated modeling suggests that staggering undergraduates’ return over ten days from January 14 – 23 will help flatten the curve of the campus positivity rate, which will allow the University to better respond to the increase in positive cases we anticipate when students come back to campus," the officials noted.
Princeton University is also requiring eligible students to get a coronavirus booster shot before Jan. 31.
Billy Wade, a junior at Princeton University, told Fox News that the new travel restrictions are "well-intentioned but potentially unnecessary."
"The travel restrictions limiting students to Mercer County [were], as I understand it, established so students did not travel to places like NYC, catch the virus and bring it back to campus," Wade said. "The University is doing their best to create a bubble where breakthrough cases are kept to a minimum while maintaining as much normalcy as possible."
Exterior view of University Chapel on the Princeton University campus, Princeton, New Jersey, November 4, 2011. (Photo by Oliver Morris/Getty Images) ((Photo by Oliver Morris/Getty Images))
Currently, 99% of undergraduate students at Princeton University have received the coronavirus vaccination, according to university data.
On Dec. 14, Princeton University Dean Jill Dolan and Vice President. W. Rochelle Calhoun announced that all remaining exams beginning Dec. 16 would be shifted to a remote format due to an increase in coronavirus cases in the state.
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