TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona State University has issued a travel restriction to China days after a case of a new virus was confirmed in the community near Phoenix.
The ban is effective immediately for students, faculty and staff traveling on behalf of the university and will last until the outbreak is contained, university President Michael Crow said Tuesday.
“No institution-related travel, such as study abroad or other academic program visits, to China will be authorized or approved by the university. This travel restriction is similar to restrictions many businesses and organizations across the U.S. have implemented,” the advisory said.
University spokesman Jerry Gonzalez told The Arizona Republic that the policy does not apply to personal travel.
The announcement comes after the state Department of Health Services diagnosed a person under the age of 60 in the university community with the virus Sunday and follows a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention against nonessential travel to China.
Health officials said the person does not live in university housing and has been in isolation since returning from Wuhan, the central Chinese city that’s the epicenter of the new virus that has sickened nearly 6,000 people and killed 132. It’s a type of coronavirus, which includes those that can cause the common cold and more serious illnesses such as SARS.
The person in Arizona had close contact with five people since returning, and those people also are being monitored closely, officials said.
Chris Minnick of the state Department of Health Services said Tuesday that “several samples” have been sent to the CDC for testing. The samples are from people who have shown symptoms or came in direct contact with the confirmed patient.
A representative for the CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Employees at stores near the Tempe campus told other outlets that they were running out of face masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, the Republic reported.
University officials are working closely with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health and the Arizona Department of Health Services to monitor the situation, officials said.
Some students have started an online petition, which has collected more than 18,000 signatures, to cancel class until areas are properly disinfected.
Classes will not be canceled, university officials said.
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