Arlington
3 UTA students back from coronavirus hot spot South Korea must quarantine themselves
The University of Texas at Arlington has required three students who recently returned from a study abroad trip to South Korea to quarantine themselves for at least 14 days due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the country, the university confirmed Wednesday.
The students haven’t been showing symptoms of an infection but will have to be cleared by a health professional before they can return to campus.
UTA informed them on Feb. 27 they would be required to return home, college spokesman Jeff Carlton said. That was days after the Centers for Disease Control issued a level 3 warning to avoid all non-essential travel to South Korea, where there have been more cases of the coronavirus than any other country except for China. The virus originated in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019.
Of the more than 95,000 cases around the globe, roughly 80,000 of them have been in China, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. But South Korea has the second-most cases at more than 5,600.
UTA is adhering to “protocols recommended by both the CDC and the UT System” by requiring the three students who were in South Korea to self-quarantine for 14 days, Carlton said.
“We are in regular contact with our students, who must be seen by a health professional at the end of the quarantine and receive clearance before returning to campus,” he said. “We have an obligation to keep the university community safe and healthy, and we take that seriously.”
The three undergraduate students — Maria Falcon, Madeleine Berry and Thomas-Quy Nguyen — told the UTA student newspaper, The Shorthorn, they’re feeling OK but are keeping a close eye on their health. They reportedly returned home after only one week in Seoul, South Korea, cutting short a trip supposed to last four months.
One of the students told The Shorthorn she didn’t have to get any tests or screenings at DFW International Airport, where they flew in.
A post on the UTA Charles T. McDowell Center Facebook page states the students were recipients of the Spring 2020 Ruch Study Abroad Scholarship, gaining the opportunity to travel to Seoul to study at Yonsei University. They left for their trip the week of Feb. 17, another post states.
A message from the UTA study abroad director informed them they were required to come home because of the increasing chance of travel restrictions in South Korea, according to The Shorthorn. The newspaper reported students were told the university is working on securing them refunds.
After returning to Texas, the undergrads were reportedly advised that — if they were to start feeling sick — they should reach out to Tarrant County Public Health or UTA Health Services before going to a clinic.
Two of the students told The Shorthorn they’re concerned about what the rest of their semesters will look like now that their trip has been canceled.
As of Wednesday, there were at least 95,120 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 3,254 deaths across more than 75 countries, according to the Johns Hopkins University data. The death rate is about 3.4 percent, compared to the 0.1 percent death rate of the flu.
The coronavirus spreads through close contact between people and respiratory droplets produced by coughing or sneezing, according to the CDC.
Tarrant County health officials said Wednesday they’re taking steps to prevent the spread of the virus and prepare for its possible arrival.
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