Spring break takes a break due to the pandemic

Many colleges in the US are canceling spring break to discourage partying that could spread the coronavirus and raise infection rates back on campus, while others are scaling back the time off, and one is offering money to those willing to stay on campus.

The University of California Davis is offering $75 gift cards to students who choose to stay put, according to the Los Angeles Times. Students who agree to remain on campus during the March 22-26 break will receive the cards to spend locally, according to the university.

"The idea behind this was to provide a positive incentive for students to follow public health guidance," Sheri Atkinson, associate vice-chancellor for student affairs, told the Times. "Based on how our students have done so far, we're pretty confident that this group is conscientious and will do what they signed up to do."

To receive a gift card, students must give a basic description of their spring break plans, pledge to stay in town for their weeklong break, and complete a COVID-19 test.

Student response has been "awesome", the university said in statement. It initially planned to give 750 such grants, but because of student interest, it raised the cap to 2,000. The anticipated $150,000 program will be paid through philanthropy and other university funds, not student fees or tuition, Atkinson said.

According to a list compiled by the Northwest Florida Daily, more than 60 colleges and universities, from large state schools to smaller private colleges and Ivy League universities, have changed schedules to eliminate weeklong breaks.

Rice University in Houston decided to break the continuity of the five days of spring break and give students sporadic days throughout the semester. But the University of Houston is going ahead with spring break.

Texas A&M University shortened the spring break to a three-day weekend to "minimize extensive travel and allow the semester to conclude earlier for additional commencements". Texas Southern University is giving students a two-day break on April 1 and 2.

Some schools just canceled spring break. The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Alabama did away with it but are giving students a day off later in the semester. The University of Mississippi also canceled spring break but will end the semester a week early. Public universities in Iowa, along with Kansas State University, Purdue University and others also made the same arrangement.

Plenty of other schools are going ahead with the weeklong break, and popular destinations such as Texas and Florida beaches are bracing for maskless crowds.

"We're surveying all of our industry partners right now to get a better feel for what they are going to be asking visitors to do," Michael Woody, chief tourism officer for the Galveston Island Convention and Visitor Bureau in Texas, told the local ABC-TV affiliate. "But I think the best course is to bring your mask along." He said in previous years, Galveston has welcomed 300,000 people for spring break.

Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said that he is keeping safety protocols in place. "We're expecting large crowds. We've increased deputies, especially on the Peninsula. We have a substation that we opened up," Trochesset told the Houston Chronicle. "Even since COVID-19, the Peninsula never really slowed down."

"College students have a great deal of freedom this year," Stacy Ritter, tourism chief for Fort Lauderdale, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "With virtual classrooms, students can attend classes from a beachfront hotel as easily as they can from home or dorm."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is hoping to avoid coronavirus outbreaks due to spring break and is repeating its holiday guidance against travel. "CDC recommends that people not travel at this time, and delay spring break travel until 2022," a CDC spokesperson said last month.