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St. John’s College in Santa Fe will move to online instruction temporarily as a precaution over the coronavirus threat. (Courtesy of St. John’S College)

SANTA FE, N.M. — St. John’s College, a private liberal arts college in Santa Fe, has decided to move to online instruction for two weeks after its spring break to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus, the Santa Fe school said Wednesday.

President Mark Roosevelt said in an interview that the decision was made before Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after three cases of the virus were confirmed in New Mexico. A fourth case was confirmed later in the day.

Roosevelt said St. John’s decided to be proactive because 90% of its students are from outside the state and were due to begin a two-week spring break on Friday. About 20% of the school’s students are international.

“The virus is moving so fast that it’s close to a no-brainer,” Roosevelt said. “We’re asking our students to stay home and learn online for two weeks after spring break ends.”

At that point, St. John’s will decide whether to extend online learning for the remainder of the spring semester. Right now, graduation its scheduled for Saturday, May 23, but Roosevelt said that event could be rescheduled depending on whether the coronavirus continues to spread.

Although the virus doesn’t appear to hit the young as hard as it does older people, Roosevelt said the danger is that students who travel and return to Santa Fe could infect staff and faculty members. He noted as someone over 60, he himself is considered to be vulnerable.

Roosevelt said the decision to have two weeks of online learning was made in concert with St. John’s Annapolis campus, where 450 students were due to return to school on Monday, March 16. The academic calendar of the East Coast arm of St. John’s is two weeks ahead of its Santa Fe counterpart.

He said that St. John’s students will continue to learn so there will be no tuition refunds, but that if online learning is extended for the remainder of the spring semester, the school will look into the possibility of refunds and/or credit for room and board.

During the next four weeks, Roosevelt anticipates staff will be coming to school with the exception of those who are sick or feel they are at risk of contracting the virus. “We have a faculty meeting scheduled for this afternoon and we’re telling anyone who doesn’t feel well or thinks they could get the virus to stay home,” Roosevelt said.