As Coronavirus Spreads, Salem State Pays For Students To Return

SALEM, MA — Salem State University said it would cover the cost of flight changes for students in study abroad programs in countries with elevated coronavirus threat levels that want to come home early.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said China, Iran, Italy, Japan, and South Korea have elevated threat levels. In a letter to the campus community, President John Keenan and Assistant Vice President for Public Safety and Risk Management Gene Labonte said the school would also work with students studying in those countries to keep their academic progress on track if they return home sooner than planned.

The school is not, however, requiring students to end their study abroad programs early.

"The Center for International Education is staying in contact with students, and students are also encouraged to pay close attention to information or guidelines provided by their host campus or program provider," Keenan and Labonte wrote.

Salem State is also asking international students who are planning to return home for spring break next week to the school's Center for International Education. "Please know that if you are an international student, you may be denied reentry to the U.S should you leave the country," Keenan and Labonte said.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.