PULLMAN, Wash. — A global outbreak continues to cause problems for travelers, the coronavirus is responsible for thousands of illnesses and more than 700 deaths worldwide.
It's those kind of numbers that have caused travel restrictions and quarantines for people going to and from China. Here at home, Washington State University is taking precautions too, they've suspended all study abroad programs in China for the time being.
The Office of International Programs Global Learning at WSU said there were two students in China on study abroad, one was already scheduled to come home but the other was sent home by their program because of the ongoing situation with the coronavirus.
The news is disappointing for students who hopped to study in China. However, the university had to make a decision to make sure students with future plans won't be affected.
"We are constantly monitoring everything that's going on around the world, to make sure our students, if something flares up somewhere, we check and see if we have any students there," said Koda Hendrickson with the Office of International Programs Global Learning.
There's just some things you can't learn in the classroom. Ask anyone who's study abroad like Pera Tran and they'll tell you, it's more than just becoming book smart.
"It was the most amazing experience I could've ever had educationally and finding myself and just that whole process was just so much fun. You get to immerse yourself in a new culture that you might've not immersed yourself in before," Tran explained.
A big portion of the experience is the planning that happens way before they step onto a plane.
"They send us through a lot of programming and they make sure we have the relevant information that we need," Tran said.
The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China is a concern, which is why the school is changing plans for its programs.
"All programs to China are on hold, really just to see where things settle out," Hendrickson said.
The university decided to cancel all programs to China out of an abundance of caution from the CDC, World Health Organization and travel restrictions.
"We paid attention to all of those things, just to make sure we're not jumping the gun, but we're also not lagging behind," Hendrickson added.
Students plan these trips so far in advance, which is why the university wanted to make sure students are aware of the situation before they book their travels.
"Part of the decision making was making sure that students aren't already buying their tickets that they're going to have to cancel," Hendrickson explained.
They hope this doesn't deter anyone who's on the fence about going abroad. Tran wants other students to know they're in good hands.
"They have their research done, they know exactly what's going on and they're prepared to make sure that everything goes well, they want everyone to have an amazing abroad experience like I did," Tran said.
There's no word yet on when students who hope to go abroad in that country will be allowed to go.