The coronavirus outbreak that emerged from Wuhan, China has killed over 900 as of Feb. 9, surpassing the death tolls of both SARS (774) and MERS (858). With over 40,000 confirmed cases of this novel coronavirus worldwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel warning level 3, recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China.

The U.S. State Department also updated their travel advisory for China to Level 4: Do Not Travel. Following the CDC and State Department warnings, UNF has cancelled all study abroad program trips to China. Students in the ECO4956 China study abroad course were slated to travel to Beijing and Chengdu, China on March 13, but all travel for this course is effectively cancelled. For more information, students in this course can email stephanie.worley@unf.edu.

So far in the United States, there are 12 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, creatively designated 2019-nCoV. As of Feb. 7, the CDC reports 100 pending cases in the U.S. of people under investigation concerning this disease.

According to Nursing Instructor at UNF’s Student Health Services Pat Richards in previous coverage of this story, no UNF students have traveled to or from China since the outbreak.

The CDC and UNF’s Student Health Services recommends standard hygiene practices to prevent contracting or spreading the disease. Wash your hands often, clean frequently touched surfaces, stay home if you feel ill and avoid sick individuals. 

Spinnaker will continue to update this ongoing situation as it develops.

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