Six faculty and students from UH are on self-quarantine for 14 days and two others are expected to be too by the end of the week after returning from Italy and South Korea, according to a UH spokesperson.
The UH System expanded its travel restrictions this week on university-related travel to include all countries that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a Level 2 or Level 3 Travel Warning related to the new coronavirus, officially called COVID-19.
As of Thursday, these countries are China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea.
“This ensures that anyone who has returned and develops symptoms of COVID-19 will not inadvertently spread the virus to others on our campuses,” President Renu Khator said in an email sent to students, faculty and staff.
The University said with Spring Break approaching, it is important for anyone considering personal international travel especially to China, Iran, South Korea, Italy or Japan to clearly understand the implications on their return to the U.S.
UH has not identified any cases of the coronavirus on UH campuses, according to a statement from the University.
“The international profile of our universities, which includes routine travel abroad in both official and personal capacities, means we must be especially vigilant in determining when anyone in our universities has become potentially exposed to the virus and take responsible actions to contain and prevent its spread,” Khator said in the email.
The coronavirus outbreak in recent weeks has sparked economic turmoil and canceled a plethora of international events over fears of further spreading the deadly disease.
A 70-year-old Fort Bend County man who had recently traveled abroad tested “presumptively positive” for the deadly disease, officials said Wednesday evening.
The man has been hospitalized but Fort Bend County Officials did not disclose his identity or where he has traveled, according to the Houston Chronicle.
California on Thursday furthered showed the severity of the outbreak by declaring a state of emergency and refused to let a cruise ship carrying 2,500 passengers, some of who had tested positive for the coronavirus, dock in San Francisco, according to the Washington Post.