Temple suspends travel to China amid coronavirus outbreak

The announcement comes in the wake of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the outbreak as a global public health emergency.

Temple University is preparing its students and faculty to move its courses online as cases of the coronavirus rise around the world. | DYLAN LONG / FILE PHOTO

Temple University has suspended university-affiliated student travel to China following the coronavirus outbreak, President Richard Englert announced Thursday.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak, which has affected more than 7,800 people, a global public health emergency Thursday, the Financial Times reported. 

There are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Philadelphia or at any of Temple’s campuses in the U.S. or abroad, Englert wrote. The university has also been in contact with students who have traveled from China to inform them of the situation.

Symptoms of coronavirus, which is a family of viruses that can cause respiratory tract diseases and illnesses, include fever or pneumonia, the New York Times reported. 

The outbreak, which began in late December 2019, is linked to a market in Wuhan, China which sold live seafood, live poultry and other live animals, the Times reported.  

The University of Pennsylvania suspended study abroad programs in China on Wednesday, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported.

U.S. officials reported the first U.S. person-to-person spread of the virus today in Chicago, CNBC reported.

Students who have traveled to China, especially Wuhan City, on or after Dec. 1, 2019 and feel sick with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, should seek medical care right away, Englert wrote.

Before seeking medical help, students should call their doctor’s office or emergency room and describe their symptoms and recent travel, Englert wrote.

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