© Claudio Furlan, Lapresse via AP People, some wearing sanitary masks, take photos in central Milan, Italy, Feb. 24, 2020.

While no cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in South Dakota, universities are taking preventative steps to protect staff and students.

Trips are being canceled and study abroad students are coming home early — and with more programs coming up later this year, those cancellations may not be the last.

On Wednesday, South Dakota State University announced that all school-sponsored international travel would be canceled, affecting around 15 student and study abroad programs planned for the spring and summer terms, said Mike Lockrem, director of university marketing and communications for SDSU.

That's in addition to two South Dakota State students who are being brought home from a study abroad program in Italy, and a spring break trip to Italy that included 19 students that was also canceled.

"While a tough decision, it's one we felt was needed," said Lockrem.

Prior to the Wednesday announcement, Jon Stauff, SDSU's assistant vice president for international affairs, said that the university was canceling any trips to countries that the U.S. State Department had placed under Level 3 or Level 4 travel advisories, such as China, Iran, South Korea and Italy.

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The university's normal refund policy is in place, Stauff said, and travel expenses will be refunded for students.

"We're going to have to be flexible, we're going to have to be patient," Stauff said. "We may have to make difficult decisions later on, but they'll be made with the welfare of students in mind."

Augustana cancels five spring break trips

Rick Tupper, associate vice president for university services at Augustana University, said that five spring break trips sponsored by the school — to Greece, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Puerto Rico and Hawaii — have been canceled, with hopes to reschedule at some point in the future. Those trips will also be refunded.

Any travel outside the continental United States for the month of March will be canceled, Tupper said, and a group of faculty and staff is looking into the potential next steps if the virus continues to be a global concern.

"What if the campus has to reduce operations?" Tupper said, noting that they're taking steps into looking at increased ability for classes to be taken from home.

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Tupper also said the university is hosting a number of international students from China, some of whom are set to return in May. If they're not able to return, he said, the students and the university need to be prepared for that.

In the meantime, he said, the message to students is don't overreact, but take precautions.

"With the knowledge that a lot of spring break travel is going to take place, we want to make sure students are doing it in an educated manner," Tupper said.

The story continues below.

USF and USD making plans

Brett Bradfield, president of the University of Sioux Falls, said they don't have any international travel planned at the moment and are putting plans in place for any potential concerns that would arise from the virus arriving in the state.

"We're planning for the worst and hoping for the best," he said.

Hailie Warren, public relations officer for the University of South Dakota, said "our leadership team is meeting on this today to formalize a full plan," and more details would be available soon.

More: US schools are in a 'state of alert' amid coronavirus outbreak. Are they overreacting – or not doing enough?

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota universities cancel trips, study abroad over coronavirus concerns