As spring breaks wrap up, university campuses across the state are preparing for students and faculty returning from travel abroad with coronavirus anxieties in mind.
Universities are prompting returning students to self-monitor for symptoms. Faculty, students and staff traveling to or from China, South Korea, Italy, or Iran are being told to self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to campus.
Michael Vrooman is the Chief International Officer for Grand Valley State University. He says students there should miss minimal instruction time.
"Specifically for faculty, encourage them to be flexible in terms of assignments, and deadlines, and to consider some of the distance-based formats," he says.
Many universities have halted study abroad programs in countries with level three CDC travel warnings and are discouraging personal or school-related travel there. No cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, have been reported in Michigan yet. Symptoms include coughing, fever, and shortness of breath.
You can learn more about some universities' current plans for fighting the potential spread of the novel coronavirus on campus.
