While most schools and colleges around the country shut their doors amid the global coronavirus pandemic, Liberty University has refused to close. Instead of telling students not to come back from spring break, the school's president, Jerry Falwell Jr., defied the advice of health experts and decided to remain open.

According to a report from the New York Times, that decision could have brought the virus to the campus. 1,900 students returned to the dorms last week, and now around a dozen of them are showing symptoms of COVID-19. Three of them were admitted to the hospital and are awaiting test results, while eight students were told to self-isolate. One student who takes classes online and did not live on campus tested positive.

Falwell said that any student who returns to the campus must self isolate for 14 days, but defended his decision to stay open.

"I think we have a responsibility to our students — who paid to be here, who want to be here, who love it here — to give them the ability to be with their friends, to continue their studies, enjoy the room and board they've already paid for and to not interrupt their college life," he told The News & Advance.

Falwell said that he understands students may wish to return home and offered a $1,000 credit for any student who wishes to return home for the rest of the semester.

So far, around 800 of the 1,900 students who came back to the dorms decided to leave.

To keep up to date on the latest news about the coronavirus and to understand what you need to stay safe and healthy, check out the Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction podcast from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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