photo by: Journal-World File

A sign at the entrance to Haskell Indian Nations University is shown Friday, Aug. 5, 2016.

Haskell Indian Nations University will continue with all-online classes for the spring semester, according to a memorandum sent to students by the university president on Tuesday.

“With the climbing COVID numbers in Indian Country, we will continue our Distance Education through the Spring Semester,” president Ronald Graham wrote. “I will not chance your health or lives with pushing to traditional instruction too early.”

Haskell spokesperson Stephen Prue did not respond to an inquiry from the Journal-World asking for a copy of the document, but the Haskell Indian Leader posted the memo on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

In June, Haskell announced that students would not return to campus for the fall semester, which was a different approach from other nearby colleges, such as the University of Kansas and Baker University, which opted to welcome students back to campus but to end the fall semester at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday. But COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, including some Native American communities.

According to an August study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 23 states, the cumulative incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases among American Indians and Alaska Natives was 3.5 times higher than that of non-Hispanic white people. The study also showed that, compared with white people, American Indians and Alaska Natives had a higher percentage of cases of COVID-19 in people under 18: 12.9% compared with 4.3%.