STATESBORO — Georgia Southern University’s spring commencement has been canceled in response to COVID-19, GS Communications and Marketing announced in an email Tuesday.

The cancellation is in line with recommendations from the Georgia Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid having events with large groups.

Students scheduled to graduate will still be able to graduate, but they will not be able to walk in a ceremony, according to the email.

“As we manage this ever-changing situation with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), our primary goal is to protect students, faculty, and staff. One of the most important preventative measures is to avoid having people in large groups as advised by the Georgia Department of Public Health and the CDC. Accordingly, we unfortunately need to cancel all public events to include our planned commencement exercises on May 8 & 9. Students will still be able to graduate, consistent with academic standards, but the actual spring ceremony will be cancelled. We are beginning discussions now on what options we might still have to celebrate our graduates’ accomplishments,” GS Communications and Marketing said in the email.

Blakeley Bartee, The George-Anne Editor-in-Chief, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu