MIT announced today it's "suspending all international travel on MIT business or with MIT programs, for all faculty, students, postdocs and staff" - and is taking a series of other steps to limit any potential Covid-19 spread, including banning all campus meetings of more than 150 people and asking MIT students and staffers who travel out of state, even just to another part of the US on spring break, to log their destinations in a confidential MIT travel registry.

The school also asked professors and other staffers to cancel campus visits by local K-12 students and postpone any on-campus meetings with anybody over 60.

MIT added it will allow international travel with rare extenuating circumstances, which will have to be spelled out in messages to the school provost and chancellor.

The new steps, which will be in effect at least through May 15, come a day after Gov. Baker asked all the state's colleges and high schools to back out of international travel to reduce the odds of people coming back to the state with Covid-19.

Tufts today banned all school-related travel to countries with Covid-19 outbreaks, currently China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. Travel to Japan is still allowed, but requires school approval, according to the announcement, which covers Tufts's main campus as well as its medical, dental and veterinary schools.

Both MIT and Tutts noted that while they can't tell people what to do on their personal time, they are strongly recommending that anybody affiliated with the schools not go overseas for any reason, in part because should an outbreak happen where they are abroad, they might have trouble getting back into the US.

MIT noted that anybody who travels to a country with a Covid-19 outbreak, such as China, South Korea, Italy and Japan will have to self-quarantine for two weeks after their return.

Tufts added:

Students, faculty, and staff returning from US cities where there have been cases of COVID-19 should also be mindful and seek medical care if they have both a fever and cough.

H/t Chris D. and Brad F.