GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Valley State University students are being forced to scrap their plans to study abroad in China and South Korea this semester because of coronavirus.

Grand Valley cancelled its China programs for the winter and spring/summer semesters, and its South Korea program for the winter semester.

Colleges and universities in the Grand Rapids area, like GVSU, are closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus in order to make decisions about their study abroad programs. In some cases they’re canceling trips due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus overseas.

About a dozen students at GVSU have been impacted, said GVSU Interim Chief International Officer Michael Vrooman, though he would not give an exact number citing student confidentiality.

“We’re monitoring everything and we’re going to make the decisions as the information comes in either to cancel or to continue, or to just to continue to keep an eye on the situation,” Vrooman said.

Vrooman said none of the faculty-led study abroad programs have been affected so far, rather those programs affected were more like exchange student programs. Most of them had not started classes yet, but a handful of students had just gotten to South Korea and are now on their way back to the United States, Vrooman said.

Ferris State University has “suspended” university-sponsored international travel to China and Southeast Asia for all students, faculty, and staff.

The university released a statement saying, “Ferris will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and adjust as appropriate given updates from the World Health Organization and the Department of State.”

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Aquinas College has not canceled any of the three spring study abroad programs that have already departed, said Marissa Sura, associate vice president of Marketing and Communication for the college. The three programs involve students in Japan, Ireland and France.

“We are actively monitoring the situation with our domestic and international sources, and we are communicating with those students about COVID-19 to provide updates and information about travel safety and healthy habits (per guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization),” Sura said in an email.

For Grand Rapids Community College, there are currently no students studying overseas, but the college is still keeping an eye on the coronavirus, said college spokesman David Murray.

GRCC has study abroad opportunities planned for May, including to Italy, a country the CDC has listed as “Alert - Level 2, Sustained Community Transmission-Special Precautions for High-Risk Travelers.”

Italy has experienced a “rapid increase” in confirmed cases of coronavirus since Feb. 21, with several clusters of cases in different parts of northern Italy.

“Campus leaders and faculty are closely monitoring the situation, and will continue reviewing plans up until that point to determine if there are potential restrictions or whether the college needs to consider alternative plans,” Murray said.

The coronavirus originated in China, with the first reported case occurring on Dec. 31, 2019. The disease has spread to other countries, including South Korea, Italy and Iran.

In severe cases, it can cause kidney failure, pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome and death.

Nearly 80,000 people have been infected, the vast majority in China. In Europe, 621 cases have been confirmed and 16 deaths have been confirmed due to the disease. Italy alone has 528 confirmed cases and 14 confirmed deaths. Those statistics come from the WHO.

Symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, according to WHO.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Jan. 30.

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