After canceling spring break for the spring 2021 semester, the University of Iowa will call off class for students and faculty for two one-day periods.

The university announced in a campus-wide update on Monday that March 2 and April 14  — which fall on a Tuesday and Wednesday respectively — will serve as instructional breaks for the spring 2021 semester. No classes will be held on these days, and students will be encouraged to use the break to ensure they understand course material and seek assistance, if necessary.

In September, the university announced it was extending winter break by a week, with the spring semester beginning on Jan. 25 and ending on May 14 with no week-long pause in classes to avoid travel-borne spread of the virus. Student government representatives earlier this year proposed mental health break days to fall in the middle of the week to avoid three-day weekend travel and offer a reprieve from the 16 week-streak of instruction.

The University of Iowa officials predict next semester will look largely like the fall’s hybrid in-person and online class format.

The update said the university will continue to expect students and faculty to abide by Iowa City’s mask mandate, which was put in place on July 20. The mayor extended the mask mandate until Nov. 13.

The UI also released the number of self-reported positive COVID-19 cases on campus. As of Oct. 30, 21 students and 14 employees have self-reported testing positive for the virus. This brings the student semester-to-date total up to 2,189 and the employee semester-to-date total is 114.

The 14-day rolling total as of Nov. 2 for Johnson County is 665.