ALFRED — With a surge in COVID-19 cases in the area, Alfred State College is shifting classes and labs to a fully remote format, beginning Monday.

While the COVID-19 testing positivity rate on the Alfred State campus has not surged to the same level as Allegany County, college officials said Tuesday they are taking additional precautions to assist the surrounding community.

Faculty will be permitted to teach synchronous classes at the same time as currently scheduled but through remote delivery. They are not required to come to campus for the remote instruction.

Also effective Monday, all food services will be takeout/to-go and there will be no more in-person dining. Students can elect to move out any time after their Friday classes and after they have received their negative COVID-19 test result.

Alfred State officials said there are three important reasons for the change:

• On Saturday, the Allegany County Department of Health released a bulletin that indicates a surge in county cases and a 14-day rolling positive testing average of 5% and a seven-day rolling average of 6.4%.

County officials have been preparing residents for a state color-zone designation as a hot spot for the coronavirus. Health officials asked the public and residents to help in trying to get the county’s positivity rate down.

• Alfred State can best provide students an option to leave campus in the closest possible proximity to their negative test result before traveling to their home and family.

• The college can reduce campus density to allow its campus case numbers to decline.

Students are not required to leave Friday. With only three class days next week, students can opt to take next week’s classes remotely (Monday through Wednesday) while still staying on campus in the residence halls. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the option to leave this weekend after receiving a negative test result.