Additional Coronavirus Travel Restrictions and Guidance
Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Campus Community:
The situation regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to change quickly. Travel restrictions to Italy and Iran have been elevated to Level 3 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and thus there should not be any official university travel to those countries. As announced earlier this week, official university travel is also not allowed to South Korea nor to China. We are in contact with all of our students studying abroad and are working closely with them to ensure they are able to complete their academic semesters in a safe, healthy environment.
We want to remind the community that there are no known diagnosed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) at Carnegie Mellon or in Pittsburgh.
It is foreseeable that the United States government may expand travel restrictions to include a 14-day quarantine on any travelers returning to the U.S. from countries under the CDC Level 2 or 3 warnings. As we have seen in the news recently, the list of countries under Level 2 or 3 warnings could expand quickly, and we encourage you to check the travel restrictions website for updates.
To be clear, official university business travel to the affected areas with CDC Level 3 travel restrictions is prohibited. We also strongly encourage anyone considering overseas travel to monitor travel restrictions closely, as they may change quickly. We ask that you reconsider any plans if you intend to travel to an affected area. For any overseas travel, keep a close eye on the list of countries under restriction, so you don’t find yourself in a situation requiring quarantine upon your return.
CMU is actively monitoring this situation and will continue to send official email updates when there are important developments. The university is also addressing this ongoing situation by implementing necessary practices and developing action plans to account for a variety of contingencies the university might face over the coming months. The most up-to-date information and official university guidance can be found on the www.cmu.edu/alert page as well as our travel restrictions website.
As a community, we need to look out for and care for one another. We encourage everyone to practice good personal health practices and take the following precautions:
- Wash your hands often. This is the best defense against the spread of all viruses.
- Stay home when you are ill. A day or two of rest will assure quicker recovery and decrease the spread of infectious illness on campus.
- Cover your cough/sneeze with a tissue or the crook of your arm, and then promptly wash your hands or use hand sanitizer if soap and water is not available.
- Get plenty of rest/sleep.
We need to continue to support all of our community members here in Pittsburgh and around the world through this difficult and rapidly changing situation. Care for the health and safety of our community will always be our most important priority.
Sincerely,
Jim Garrett, Provost
Gina Casalegno, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs