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Law360 (March 10, 2020, 11:05 AM EDT) -- Harvard Law School will follow its undergraduate university in shifting to online classes beginning March 23 due to concerns over COVID-19, according to an email sent by Law School Dean John Manning to students, faculty and staff on Tuesday morning.
The message is a follow-up to the announcement by University President Larry Bacow advising undergraduate and graduate students that in-person instruction will give way to remote teaching and learning the day after classes are scheduled to resume following spring break.
"It is challenging, and for the Law School unprecedented, to deal with significant disruptions of the kind the University announced today," Manning's email states. "I am grateful to students, staff, and faculty for your hard work, adaptability, and resiliency in taking the steps needed to support the community's well-being while continuing to deliver our academic program.
"I know these are dramatic changes and they will inevitably come with some challenges along the way," Manning wrote.
Harvard is one of a growing number of law schools to move to online classes due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in the past week. Others include Columbia Law School, Fordham University School of Law, the University of Washington and Stanford University.
On Monday afternoon, state officials announced 51 new presumed cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, bringing the total of presumptive or confirmed cases of the disease to 92. Of those cases, 72 are linked to a February conference at Cambridge-based biotech Biogen Inc. and the plurality are in Middlesex County, which includes Cambridge, officials said.
Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency, making Massachusetts the 12th state to take that step in response to the virus.
Major regional events, including the annual South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade, have been canceled, and a few Bay State schools have closed. Amherst College, which does not have a law school, also announced Monday that it would move all of its classes online.
Massachusetts courts remain open, with the decision to cancel individual hearings left to judges at the federal level. A message from state Trial Court Chief Justice Paula M. Carey to trial court employees outlined steps being taken to address the virus and slow its spread. These include disinfecting "high-touch" areas like jury rooms, holding cells, handrails and elevator buttons.
Any trial court employees who recently returned from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran or Italy should stay home for 14 days, Justice Carey's message states.
There have been more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 globally since the outbreak began in China, with more than 4,000 deaths.
--Editing by Katherine Rautenberg.
Update: This article has been updated with additional information about the number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts.
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