The 17 state colleges and universities have been directed to immediately suspend or cancel institutionally-sponsored travel to several countries due to concerns about coronavirus.
What to Know
- A new coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan City in China and has been detected in 37 locations internationally, including cases in the United States.
- On Jan. 30, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern."
- There have been 14 confirmed cases in the United States,
An announcement sent to the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities community on Thursday says that all colleges and universities must immediately suspend or cancel institutionally-sponsored travel to countries designated Level 3 (warning) and Level 2 (watch) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention out of an abundance of caution.
The announcement to the CSCU community says, any “students who are currently traveling in China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, and Japan “should return as soon as possible.” Schools are also urged to continue to monitor the CDC website and cancel all planned travel when countries are designated Level 2 and above.
This includes a trip Central Connecticut State University students were planning to take to Italy in March.
“As fear over the global COVID-19 outbreak continue to grow, we must do everything in our power to keep our students, faculty, staff, and administrators as safe as possible,” the announcement says.
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The announcement goes on to say that college and university leaders are working with CSCU staff to develop plans to prepare for the possible need to cancel all in-person classes on campuses.
In the meantime, schools are being urged to determine which courses would be good candidates for “rapid conversion to a fully online format” and for faculty, classes and students “who would easily transition” to an online format.
Schools with on-campus housing are being instructed to take additional precautions to keep students and staff safe.
CSCU President Mark Ojakian has also urged the leaders at the Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University to come up with a plan in the event that dormitories must be closed temporarily.
