Harvard Business School has moved its first-year MBA students and some in their second year to remote learning amid a rise in breakthrough Covid infections.

Students will move to online classes for the week of September 27 to October 3, and the school has also asked students to stop unmasked indoor activities, cancel group travel, and limit in-person interactions with people outside their household.

“In recent days, we’ve seen a steady rise in breakthrough infections among our student population, despite high vaccination rates and frequent testing,” said Mark Cautela, spokesperson for Harvard Business School.

“Contact tracers who have worked with positive cases highlight that transmission is not occurring in classrooms or other academic settings on campus. Nor is it occurring among individuals who are masked,” he added.

The Ivy League school has introduced more frequent Covid testing, with students now testing three times a week, and is readying a daily email to keep students updated on “all aspects of the situation”.

Overall, 95 per cent of students and 96 per cent of employees at Harvard are vaccinated against Covid-19.

Harvard Business School has 1,010 students enrolled in its first year. It was not clear how many second-year students were affected by the move.