ANYMORE UPDATES, WE'LL BRING IT LIVE. >> MARK, THANK YOU. >>> THERE HAVE BEEN MORE COVID CASES AMONG DUKE STUDENTS IN THE LAST MONTH AND ALL OF LAST SEMESTER. NOW ADMINISTRATORS ARE DETAILING THE HARSH REALITIES THAT COULD COME NEXT. SARAH KRUEGER SPOKE TO STUDENTS WHO SAY AFTER A SUCCESSFUL FALL, THE SPRING IS OFF TO A DISAPPOINTING START. >> Reporter: LOOKING AT DUKE'S COVID DASH BOARD, YOU CAN SEE ABOUT 300 STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF HAVE TESTED POSITIVE OVER THE LAST MONTH. OUT OF ABOUT 90,000 TOTAL TESTS DONE. THAT IS STILL A SMALL PERCENTAGE. BUT DUKE OFFICIALS SAY IT'S CONCERNING. >> WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS SEMESTER AS WE STARTED. >> Reporter: THIS IS A VIDEO MESSAGE THEY FOUND IN THEIR INBOX. DETAILING WHAT COULD COME NEXT IF CASES KEEP RISING. >> AND SO WE HAVE A CONTINGENCY PLAN. EVEN HAS TO STAY IN THEIR ROOM AND ONLY TO COME OUT TO GET FOOD. >> A LOT OF STUDENTS WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY WOULD RATHER GO HOME THAN BE VIRTUAL. BE LOCKED IN THE ROOMS HERE. >> Reporter: DUKE STUDENTS TELL ME THEY FELT THE E-MAIL WAS WARRANTED, BUT STILL DISAPPOINTING. >> I'M TAKING CLASSES LIKE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY THIS SEMESTER. IF I HAD TO STAY ONLINE BY MYSELF ALL THE TIME, I WOULD -- THAT'S LIKE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. I WOULD GO CRAZY. >> Reporter: MICHAEL SCHOENFELD TELLS US THE INCREASE IN CASES COULD BE RELATED TO A FEW THINGS. THERE ARE MORE STUDENTS BACK THIS SEMESTER. THEY ARE TESTING MORE PEOPLE, AND A VIRUS IS MORE PREVALENT IN THE COMMUNITY. HE SAYS A SHIFT TO REMOTE CLASSES OR A SHELTER IN PLACE IS NOT IMMINENT, AND THEY HOPE IT DOES NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN. >> IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN THIS WEEK OR NEXT WEEK, BUT IT IS JUST A REMINDER TO STUDENTS AND TO EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THAT IS A POSSIBILITY. >> Reporter: AND I ASKED IF DUKE WOULD EVER CONSIDER SENDING STUDENTS OUT OF THE DORMS AND BACK HOME. HE TOLD ME THAT IS NOT AN OPTION. HE CANNOT THINK OF ANYTHING MORE DANGEROUS THAN SENDING STUDENTS OUT OF HERE BACK ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD.