The president of Harvard University and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus and have been in self-isolation for more than a week, the school announced today.
In a letter to students and faculty, President Lawrence Bacow, 68, said he and his wife, Adele, started experiencing symptoms including a cough, fever, chills and body aches on Sunday.
They were tested on Monday and received the positive results on Tuesday.
Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow said Tuesday he and wife Adele have tested positive for the coronavirus (pictured together in 2018)
‘Neither of us knows how we contracted the virus, but the good news—if there is any to be had—is that far fewer people crossed our paths recently than is usually the case,’ the president of the Ivy League school explained.
Bacow and his wife had been working from home and limiting their contact with others since March 14 as a precaution.
The state’s Department of Public Health will contact anyone who had recently been in contact with the couple, Bacow said.
‘We will be taking the time we need to rest and recuperate during a two-week isolation at home,’ Bacow said in the letter.
Harvard said 18 of its community members have tested positive for COVID-19 or are presumed to have the illness. The school shut down much of its campus March 17.
‘This virus can lay anyone low,’ Bacow wrote. ‘I hope to see as few of you in our situation as possible, and I urge you to continue following the guidance of public health experts and the advice and orders of our government officials.’
Bacow and his wife, MIT-educated city planner Adele Fleet Bacow, have been married for nearly 45 years and have two grown sons and at least two grandchildren. Bacow became the 29th president of Harvard University on July 1, 2018, succeeding Drew Faust.
The John Harvard statue at Harvard University, a popular tourist attraction at the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sits adorned with a medical mask as students prepared to leave campus on March 14
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 50,075 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US and 628 deaths
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 50,075 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US and 628 deaths. In Massachusetts, where Harvard is located, there were 777 cases and nine fatalities.
Earlier this month, the university asked its students not to return to campus after Spring Break ‘and to meet academic requirements remotely until further notice’.
Harvard officials said they will begin moving to virtual instruction for graduate and undergraduate classes amid the coronavirus outbreak.
FULL LETTER FROM HARVARD PRESIDENT ON COVID-19:
Harvard President Lawrence Bacow
Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
Earlier today, Adele and I learned that we tested positive for COVID-19. We started experiencing symptoms on Sunday—first coughs then fevers, chills, and muscle aches—and contacted our doctors on Monday. We were tested yesterday and just received the results a few minutes ago. We wanted to share this news with all of you as soon as possible.
Neither of us knows how we contracted the virus, but the good news—if there is any to be had—is that far fewer people crossed our paths recently than is usually the case. We began working from home and completely limiting our contact with others on March 14 in keeping with recommendations to adopt social distancing measures. In line with standard protocols, the Department of Public Health will be in touch with anyone with whom we have had close contact over the past fourteen days.
We will be taking the time we need to rest and recuperate during a two-week isolation at home. I am blessed with a great team, and many of my colleagues will be taking on more responsibility over the next few weeks as Adele and I focus on just getting healthy. Thanks, in advance, for your good wishes. Thanks also for your understanding if I am not as responsive to email as I normally am.
This virus can lay anyone low. We all need to be vigilant and keep following guidelines to limit our contact with others. Your swift actions over the past few weeks—to respond to the needs of our community, to fulfill our teaching mission, and to pursue research that will save lives—have moved me deeply and made me extraordinarily grateful and proud. I hope to see as few of you in our situation as possible, and I urge you to continue following the guidance of public health experts and the advice and orders of our government officials.
The world needs your courage, creativity, and intelligence to beat this virus—wishing each of you good health.
All the best,
Larry
Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
Earlier today, Adele and I learned that we tested positive for COVID-19. We started experiencing symptoms on Sunday—first coughs then fevers, chills, and muscle aches—and contacted our doctors on Monday. We were tested yesterday and just received the results a few minutes ago. We wanted to share this news with all of you as soon as possible.
Neither of us knows how we contracted the virus, but the good news—if there is any to be had—is that far fewer people crossed our paths recently than is usually the case. We began working from home and completely limiting our contact with others on March 14 in keeping with recommendations to adopt social distancing measures. In line with standard protocols, the Department of Public Health will be in touch with anyone with whom we have had close contact over the past fourteen days.
We will be taking the time we need to rest and recuperate during a two-week isolation at home. I am blessed with a great team, and many of my colleagues will be taking on more responsibility over the next few weeks as Adele and I focus on just getting healthy. Thanks, in advance, for your good wishes. Thanks also for your understanding if I am not as responsive to email as I normally am.
This virus can lay anyone low. We all need to be vigilant and keep following guidelines to limit our contact with others. Your swift actions over the past few weeks—to respond to the needs of our community, to fulfill our teaching mission, and to pursue research that will save lives—have moved me deeply and made me extraordinarily grateful and proud. I hope to see as few of you in our situation as possible, and I urge you to continue following the guidance of public health experts and the advice and orders of our government officials.
The world needs your courage, creativity, and intelligence to beat this virus—wishing each of you good health.
All the best,
Larry