After the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) sent out a memo to faculty, staff and students asking all members to cancel undergraduate travel to China on Jan. 30., the university has been working on how to handle summer study abroad trips to the area and how to take care of its community on campus.
The increasingly growing number of those infected by coronavirus and the U.S. Department of State listing China as “Level 3, reconsider travel and the Hubei Province as a Level 4, do not travel,” has pushed the TAMUS to encourage any undergraduate trips to those areas to be suspended.
According to the same memo, faculty and staff travel to the Hubei Province will not be approved, unless given by executive leadership, due to the extreme risk. Any other trips to other parts of China will be handled on a case-by-case basis to determine travel approval.
At Texas A&M University- Kingsville, there are three study abroad trips to countries near China – Japan, Nepal and Taiwan – planned for this summer. The university has not decided on whether those trips will be cancelled.
“The university is monitoring the situation as it is related to study abroad trips. We will provide information as it becomes available,” said Dr. Allen Rasmussen, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
While the university has yet to determine if the trips to those countries will still happen, Peter Li, the director of the Office of International Studies and Programs, said that if the trips were cancelled, those registered to go will be refunded their money or be given the opportunity to sign up for another study abroad program.
While cases of the coronavirus are small in the United States, the university does have a plan in place in case of an outbreak.
“We follow the procedures as scripted in the university’s Emergency Management Plan as a response to an infectious disease incident. It then becomes an emergency management issue. Our plan follows established protocols from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Texas Department of State Health Services,” Randy Hughes, Chief of Staff and Chair of the Emergency Management Team, said.
As for taking precautions for those who have recently visited China, Karen B. Royal, Director of Compliance and Risk Management, said they are checking in with individuals who had documented university travel to the area and inquiring about their health and would offer assistance as needed
