Penn State University canceled in-person classes for the rest of the spring semester, citing the coronavirus pandemic, and postponed commencement.

Penn State had previously planned to resume live classroom instruction on April 6 but said it needed to take more dramatic action “based on on evolving federal guidance and statewide mitigation plans” to deal with the virus threat.

The school said the classroom closure impacts about 76,000 students at the main campus and 21 satellite campuses.

The university’s president, Eric J. Barron, said the school will honor its graduates in some form.

Gun purchases surge at 3 times typical daily rate

Pennsylvania’s state-run background check system for gun purchases processed more than 4,300 transactions on Tuesday, about three times its typical daily rate.

State police said Wednesday the numbers were high even though the system had two computer outages of more than three hours apiece on Tuesday.