Texas A&M System restricts travel to high-risk countries because of coronavirus
This story has been updated to include comment from Tarleton State University.
The Texas A&M System restricted system-sponsored travel to higher risk countries and discouraged students, faculty and staff from traveling abroad Monday due to concerns over the outbreak of coronavirus globally.
The new restrictions begin immediately and apply to the system’s 11 universities, including Tarleton State University, and its eight state agencies, according to a news release.
“We have no greater responsibility than to promote the health and safety of students, faculty and staff,” Chancellor John Sharp wrote in a Monday letter to university presidents and agency directors. “We also are responsible for promoting public health, especially during this period of global uncertainty.”
The coronavirus has rapidly spread to more than 65 countries, and has caused stock markets to plummet, restricted travel to certain areas and led to at least six deaths in the U.S. as of Monday night, according to the Associated Press.
As part of the new guidelines, payment for system-sponsored travel to any countries identified “Level 1 or greater risk” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning system would be prohibited. As of Monday night, Italy, South Korea, Iran and China are among the countries the CDC lists as “Level 3” and encourages people to avoid all non-essential travel.
The only exceptions would be for “mission-critical” personnel working on the response to the virus, according to the news release.
Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to return from “Level 1 or higher risk countries” as soon as practical, and should report to their university if they have traveled to any such country recently. Stricter guidelines are in place for those who have traveled from countries with risk level of 2 or 3, and visitors are required to self-isolate for 14 days before returning to school or work.
Tarleton State University, which has a campus in Fort Worth, is following Monday’s guidelines and monitoring all university-sponsored travel to international destinations, Cecilia Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the university, wrote in an email Tuesday.
“At this time, there are no travel plans to high-risk countries and no faculty, staff or students are returning from these locations. We’ve had no reported cases of COVID-19,” Jacobs wrote.
In late January, the university announced in a news release that it was following CDC protocols, and students showing possible symptoms, like coughing or fever, were encouraged to contact Student Health Services.
Students are urged to call ahead to university health centers if they’re experiencing symptoms, and can expect to be reimbursed for reasonable expenses tied to canceled school trips as a result of the new guidelines.
Information will continue to be provided by universities, and an expert medical response team will be created.
Across Texas, universities have taken precautionary steps, with some, like Southern Methodist University, going as far as canceling all summer programs.
Texas A&M University announced last week that it was canceling study abroad trips to Italy that were scheduled for spring break. Meanwhile, a handful of Texas universities, including TCU, Texas A&M and UT Austin, previously suspended undergraduate travel to China — where the coronavirus was first detected in the city of Wuhan.
Eleven patients have tested positive for coronavirus and remain at the Texas Center for Infectious Disease in San Antonio, but Gov. Greg Abbott stressed Monday morning that all have “very mild cases” of the virus. Currently, no known cases have originated in Texas, and patients being treated and monitored in San Antonio have been evacuated from China or from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that set sail from Japan.
Tests for suspected cases in students attending Texas A&M and Baylor University came back negative last month.
PRECAUTIONARY STEPS
Coronavirus symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath, and it’s believed to mainly spread between people in close contact or when an infected person coughs or sneezes nearby, according to the CDC.
Health officials have stressed that they still have more to learn about the emerging disease, for which there is no vaccine. Here are steps the CDC recommends people take to prevent exposure and illness:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay home if you are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and clean and disinfect surfaces.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- If showing symptoms, wear a face mask to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. A mask is not recommended for people who are well.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 6:22 PM.
