What I’ve read about the German national who was 1st case in Germany was he was infected by asymptomatic instructor from a China who only started having symptoms on her flight back to China. She later tested positive for the coronavirus, as did he and 3 people had had contact with in a Germany.
Read an update that the 2 individuals being quarantined tested negative for coronavirus and have recovered fully from whatever was ailing them.
Sort of reviving this thread as we are now getting more communications about what to do if you decide you should not travel home after all, options to stay locally with families or spring break programs. All the sudden, people are starting to worry about their planned spring break travel even domestically and to Europe etc. Some people are starting to say that school should cancel their trips (both educational and athletic pre-season) but I do not think that’s happening. But the level of concern has definitely gone up, I think mostly people realizing that there will be inevitably more new germs brought onto campus post break, and some kids have been hit very hard already. Yet the situation is not dire enough to do anything drastic. Are there any precautions your schools are taking other than providing place to stay for kids who have no place to go?
UChicago sent this email to parents and students regarding Spring Break travel:
"As many members of the University community plan for travel for spring break and beyond, I am writing to share safety recommendations regarding international precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The University continues to strongly discourage travel to mainland China and Hong Kong, following guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. State Department, which has maintained its highest level of alert for China – Level 4: Do Not Travel. These advisories and related public health precautions can change with little notice. Although the State Department has not yet issued advisories for countries beyond China, travel restrictions could affect additional countries if more cases emerge.
The University strongly advises that anyone planning international travel this spring check carefully on the status of COVID-19 alerts and precautions at all destinations, including layovers. We also ask that all travelers consult the UChicago Travel Toolkit. Travelers are encouraged to sign up for International SOS alerts in case the situation changes in countries you may be visiting. Please note, however, that if public health measures cause delays in returning from countries affected by COVID-19, the University may be unable to help travelers return in a timely way.
I know these precautions can present challenges. Many of us have family, friends and colleagues in parts of the world where travel is greatly limited. It is vital that we support each other, avoid uninformed assumptions, and base decisions on the best information available. People who are unsure about their travel plans may contact coronavirusinfo@uchicago.edu for additional information. As usual, the University will provide spring break housing for undergraduates currently in College Housing who need to remain on campus over break. For more information, students can contact housing@uchicago.edu.
International Campuses
The temporary closures of the University’s Center in Beijing and Yuen Campus in Hong Kong remain in effect. Events and programs at those locations and elsewhere in China will continue to be affected while travel restrictions remain in place. We look forward to resuming activities as soon as conditions allow.
Further Resources
The University has created a resource page with University updates and public health information on COVID-19 at coronavirusupdates.uchicago.edu. Further health information is available from UChicago Medicine, CDPH, and the CDC.
Maintaining the health and safety of our community is of paramount importance. Please contact coronavirusinfo@uchicago.edu if you need guidance, resources, or assistance."
Anyone have updates from school? Our break is fast approaching with basically no info from school. No one has asked about taking in international kids who cannot travel.
SPS cancelled all trips and study abroad. Most international students are not going home for spring break, staying with local kids.
If you have questions/concerns, I’d reach out to the school to ask. Someone did post on another thread that their kid’s BS had international students from affected areas staying with US families.
Big question is - who knows how things will look a month from now when kids return? The global landscape for Covid-19 is changing daily.
Our school is staying open for break and kids who can’t travel home are remaining on campus. My son’s roommate is from China. They also had the option to go home with other families.
@one1ofeach Here’s an article about the subject dealing with SPS.
https://www.concordmonitor.com/covid-coronavirus-concord-nh-st-pauls-school-32941756?
Cate’s break starts tonight. Kids from affected countries are all staying with US families.
The school has been very good with communication and updates. They are a well-oiled machine on that front, having gone through the fire and mudslides. Next up: locusts.
Proctor has a lot of kids off campus at any given time, including currently in France, Spain, and Costa Rica. The school has said that all those countries are listed by the US State Dept as Level 2 (exercise increased caution), and that Proctor is comfortable continuing its off-campus programs as long as countries remain at level 2. If the travel advisories elevate to level 3, then they would bring the kids home (or not send the new groups for spring term). That seems to me just the right way to handle it, by having some external validation for their decision-making. I’ve got kids in college too, and have been hearing from them and friends about a number of collegiate level study abroad programs pulling their kids out of Europe and bringing them home right away.
We still have a week to go till spring break (jealous of those of you who have 3 weeks, we have 2 but really only 1 since the second one is sports pre-season trip), but just got another notification asking everyone to submit any travel plans people have so they can monitor any exposure as things evolve over spring break. There will also be health checks upon arrival from spring break. The kids not going home all have other plans by now, whether it is staying with local family or traveling within US. Of course it is not unlikely that by the time we get back there will be an outbreak within the US as well so not leaving the country may not be all that helpful after all. Alas the school is doing what they can given the rapidly changing landscape and the information they have. I also have a child in college as well, and they are not closing the dorms for spring break so anyone who can’t or does not want to travel can stay put. Their break is only one week so it makes a lot of sense.
I made the decision to pull my daughter out of her trip. She’s very upset with me, but I reminded her that I can’t take any chances. I felt bad for her though so I’m going to allow her to purchase the Nintendo Switch she wanted. Historically her grade has always missed out on opportunities because of uncontrollable circumstances. Usually, it was because the school considers them the “guinea pig” grade, which is unfair but what happens. All the other grades trips have been diverted to other locations within the US except her grade’s. I honestly might bring it up with the school but I’m not sure yet.
We have had a lot of updates over the past few weeks. Kids from China (possibly other countries — not sure) aren’t going home and have had arrangements made in the US, and a trip to Southeast Asia was cancelled. Everyone had to submit travel plans, and kids who are sick at all at the end of break are not to return until cleared. We even got a message from the AD about monitoring conditions for the spring break training trips, though I can’t imagine those being cancelled.
Today our University system suspended effective immediately all university-sponsored international travel to destinations designated either Level 2 or Level 3, and strongly discouraged travel to Level 1 countries (basically any international travel).
@GoatMama Yikes! My daughter is in a level 2 country (Nepal) and we do not plan to bring her home for now. Are you talking about the State Dept levels? Because those are often set based on political unrest etc. and I wonder if this signifies that the university is focusing on disruption from the virus as well as the virus’s spread?
@chemmchimney yesterday I found the complete list online for countries and levels and it divided out the levels by reason for risk (corona or political unrest). (E.g. “level 3 for corona” and “level 3 for Political unrest”). So you could see clearly which country had which level for which reason. That may or may not impact your or school’s decisions on whether to bring kids home but just FYI — not all lumped together. (A level 2 country due to political unrest may not incite a decision to bring home if it was level 2 all along. But a level 2 corona risk might feel riskier because of growth potential.)
@chemmchimney no, COVID-19 levels. This is an excerpt from the official announcement released yesterday:
"All University-sponsored international travel to destinations designated CDC Alert Level 2 and Warning Level 3 for COVID-19 is suspended effective immediately. At this time, this includes China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy. Faculty, staff and students MAY NOT TRAVEL to these countries for University business or academic purposes, including but not limited to study abroad or other international academic work, research or grant activity, internships, conferences or presentations, teaching or training, performances, recruiting, or athletic competitions.
"University-sponsored travel to other countries outside of North America designated as CDC Watch Level 1 destinations for COVID-19 is strongly discouraged at this time.
"While this policy does not inhibit or restrict the travel of individuals traveling on personal business or affiliate programs (i.e., travel that is not university sponsored but related to academic or business pursuits – e.g., travel through another institution or program), the UA System strongly encourages our faculty, staff, and students to consider this policy when making decisions to continue on or schedule travel to any of the affected countries.
“Individuals who choose to travel to CDC Watch Level 1 for COVID-19 destinations at this time should know that the global situation is rapidly evolving, and their risk of acquiring COVID-19 may change abruptly. We highly recommend that you follow CDC and State Department updates and be mindful of potential associated risks of disruptions to your reentry to the United States.”
As for your daughter, it may be best that you follow the recommendations of her university/college/program.
Our school cancelled overseas trips for Spring Break. Trips throughout the US are still on. Anyone else getting nervous @ kids with travels. Kiddo has to go through the Atlanta airport and that is frightful even without Corona Virus!
Went to Target, Costco & Office Depot - no Purrell, no Handi-Wipes, Low on TP & Kleenex. ?
All of our school’s spring term and spring break trips are still on for the moment, though obviously they’re watching carefully and coming up with contingency plans. The baseball team is going to the Dominican Republic for spring training, and my son would be devastated if the trip got cancelled. I’m not worried in the slightest to have him go, especially given the extremely low risk for young people.