A new online dashboard to track COVID-19 cases in SUNY schools statewide launched Sunday. The site will be updated on a 24-hour basis and features information on testing, quarantine and isolation statuses.  

"It will show how many positive cases there are, how many tests are given, how many people are in isolation or quarantine, or by each individual campus," Jim Malatras said, who is the Chancellor for SUNY schools.

During news conferences Sunday at the University at Buffalo and SUNY Fredonia, Malatras addressed uniform reinforcement, more testing, and better reporting before being able to move forward with the semester. The chancellor added that all students must follow the rules and that all SUNY schools will now need to be strict in enforcing policies.

"Across the SUNY system, we are going to enforce suspensions and other penalties for people who don't comply with the rules. It's not about an individual it's about the broader community," Malatras said.  

Malatras says if cases of COVID-19 reach a total of 100 for on-campus students, faculty, and staff, then the college must transition to remote learning for a period of two weeks.

"Even before you get close to that number, we will take immediate actions to deal with the problem if we see a number increasing"

The chancellor did applaud SUNY Fredonia president Sunday for actions the campus is taking with a recent surge in positive COVID-19 cases following the suspension of 13 students that they say did not follow COVID-19 guidelines.

"The president acted immediately and suspended the students, which means they have to go home, they can appeal and all those things but   the president is not waiting and I think we should do that across the system," Malatras added.

SUNY Oneonta became the first SUNY campus to end in-person classes for the entire semester.