Coronavirus prompts universities to stop China study abroad programmes

In light of the Coronavirus epidemic that has claimed the lives of 427 people at the time of writing, universities are suspending their study abroad programmes to China. The aim is to prevent students from travelling to China, where the virus is spreading rapidly, reflecting warnings given by governments against travel to the epidemic’s centre. In the US, universities are doing so following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s and the Department of State’s updated Level 4 – the highest of its kind – travel advisory to avoid all non-essential travel to China. Recently declared global emergency by the World Health Organisation, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases hit 20,438 as of Monday. There is currently no vaccine or cure.