A student at one of Syracuse University’s global partner schools in Australia has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The student, who attends the University of New South Wales Sydney, is hospitalized and in isolation, the university’s provost and vice-chancellor said in an email Monday. The student did not attend any classes and had no close contact with others before she was admitted to hospital.

SU students can attend classes at UNSW Sydney through Syracuse Abroad’s World Partner Program. Five cases of the new coronavirus have been reported in Australia. SU is monitoring the spread of the virus, SU said Saturday in a campus-wide email.

Health officials believe the newly discovered coronavirus, a respiratory disease, originated in Wuhan, China. The disease spreads through saliva and causes pneumonia-like symptoms, including shortness of breath, fever and coughing.

Only individuals who have visited Wuhan within the past two weeks or have come in contact with someone who has are susceptible to the disease, said Karen Nardella, SU medical director, in the email. The UNSW student arrived in Australia from Wuhan on Jan. 22.

Students in SU’s London and Florence study abroad programs also received program-wide emails about the virus Monday. There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United Kingdom and Italy, university officials said in the emails.

SU will expedite a new travel and safety policy requiring all students and faculty to register any international travel plans prior to their departure, SU officials said in a campus-wide email Tuesday. The policy will add a greater layer of protection to the campus community, officials said.

There are no confirmed cases of the virus in New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Monday.

The New York State Department of Health has sent test samples from 10 patients possibly infected with coronavirus to the Centers for Disease Control, Cuomo said. Seven tested negative and three other samples are still pending, he said.

The Department of Health has been providing guidance to the state’s colleges and universities on how to identify the virus and communicate with students about it, the statement said.

Nardella urged any students who have traveled to Wuhan recently or are displaying symptoms of the virus to contact medical personnel at the Barnes Center at the Arch immediately.

Published on January 28, 2020 at 10:20 pm

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