I'm really sorry to hear that news about your friend. I would think it's likely a department decision although am also not 100% sure. My sense from all the programs I virtually "visited" is that in the event that we cannot go in person in the fall, they will simply move everything to an online format (I would be relatively surprised if they decided to defer a cohort instead). However, these were all smaller programs at well-funded private universities, so I am not sure whether public or larger colleges (that will likely be even more adversely affected economically) might end up making a different decision. I suspect that we might, unfortunately, not know that much more until June or July when we have a better sense of the status of COVID-19.