Citing a new U.S. State Department advisory against travel to China, the University of Pittsburgh Friday instructed students, staff and faculty slated to travel there in the coming weeks to cancel their plans.
Several Pitt groups were scheduled to travel to China in March. Pitt spokesman Kevin Zwick said the university has canceled or changed the venue for all spring and spring break programming in China.
That decision and travel alert followed reports that the coronavirus, a new respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province, has infected more than 7,000 people and resulted in 200 deaths.
Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University enroll about 5,000 Chinese students at their Oakland campuses and have a number of academic partnerships and programs on the Chinese mainland.
Zwick said Pitt’s Global Operations team is standing by to “offer support as needed.”
Pitt’s announcement followed an alert issued by Carnegie Mellon Wednesday asking students, faculty and staff to avoid all nonessential travel to China.
