UNLV to temporarily close some buildings amid pandemic

UNLV announced Wednesday it will temporarily close a handful of campus buildings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a message to students, President Keith Whitfield and Executive Vice President/Provost Chris Heavey wrote that the closures are a result of directives by Gov. Steve Sisolak and the Nevada System of Higher Education.

The Student Recreation Center and Student Union will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Jan. 10. University libraries and computer labs will close at 5 p.m. Dec. 14 until Jan. 10.

The Student Health Center will offer services by appointment only, and mental health services will continue to be offered, according to the message.

Whitfield and Heavey wrote that the university is directing employees to work remotely if possible, “therefore, in-person services may shift to remote delivery.”

UNLV is also evaluating in-person classes to ensure room capacity is at or below 25 percent, they wrote. “Individual instructors will contact you directly if there are any changes to your in-person courses through the end of the semester.”

The new UNLV operations changes come after the university announced Tuesday it will suspend all in-person events, tighten its face mask policy and that several facilities — libraries, the Student Recreation and Wellness Center and computer labs — will be limited to 25 percent occupancy.

UNLV is offering 80 percent of its fall semester classes remotely. But this month, university officials asked faculty to shift from delivering in-person classes to remote instruction when possible.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.