University of Minnesota suspends all study abroad programs in China amid coronavirus outbreak

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota has suspended all study abroad programs in China for the spring semester in response to the growing outbreak of a deadly new coronavirus. 

The decision was made in accordance with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. State Department, according to the university’s website. 

The viral respiratory illness has infected nearly 10,000 people globally in just two months, prompting the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a global health emergency. More than 200 people have died from the virus so far—all of them in China. 

The U.S. State Department issued a level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory for China Thursday—the highest warning. 

The university said students scheduled to depart this spring for university programs in China will be rerouted to other international destinations or offered assistance in returning to campus for the spring semester.

At Hamline College, one student who planned to travel to China for the semester also had her plans disrupted by coronavirus precautions.

Like other schools, Hamline also emailed all 120 or so of its students studying abroad in other areas across the globe to be extra careful, wash their hands, and stay away from people who look like they have the flu.