Clarification: This article has been updated to reflect additional information from the Ingham County Health Department clarifying how people potentially exposed to the coronavirus would be notified.

EAST LANSING — Two Michigan State University students tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Ingham County Health Department.

One student is in isolation after returning to Ingham County following a study abroad trip. The second student was diagnosed with the disease after he left the country, according to a press release issued Thursday.

"People must diligently practice social distancing at this time," said Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail. "We have no doubt that coronavirus is in the community, and we know that not everyone who has it will be sick. This is why it is so important to distance yourself. People who are sick should isolate themselves at home whether they've been tested or not. Act as though you have it if you have symptoms that resemble COVID-19."

One man was diagnosed with the disease in China, Vail told the State Journal. The other man, who is in his 20s, is in isolation but not in a hospital, she said.

Officials are investigating where the two men may have been to determine whether anyone else may have been exposed to the virus. Vail said she could not release further information.

"Rest assured, if they were in places where we have to make a public notification, we will," she said.

MSU officials will send notifications to anyone on campus who may have been exposed to either man, Vail said on Friday, while the health department will notify anyone who may have been exposed off-campus in Ingham County.

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News of the man diagnosed in China had been circulating among MSU’s Chinese student community for hours before the health department released the information.

Bronson Hui is an MSU doctoral student in second language studies from Hong Kong. He said via Facebook that his wife saw what appeared to be a letter from the Liwan District health department to the Guangzhou health department on the Chinese social media app WeChat on Thursday morning.

It said that a man who later tested positive for coronavirus had flown from Lansing to Chicago and then from Chicago to Los Angeles on March 15, before flying on to Beijing and Guangzhou.

Hui said MSU and local health authorities should release more information about the man and his movements.

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“They cite privacy but the lack of details is a source of panic,” he said, and students who lived in the same residence hall should know whether they might have been exposed.

"It is reasonable to expect" more coronavirus cases involving members of the MSU community, MSU President Samuel Stanley said in a letter sent after Thursday's announcement.

"I expect that each member of our university community will continue to support one another during this health crisis," he wrote. "The university continues to work closely with local and state health departments and follow all appropriate steps to mitigate further spread on campus and in our communities. The new cases announced today underscore the important health and safety decisions MSU is making to keep us all healthy and safe."

The number of coronavirus cases in Michigan jumped to 334 Thursday, according to state officials. The disease has killed three people in the state.

Matthew Miller contributed to this story. Contact Mark Johnson at 517-377-1026 or at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.