Pittsburgh universities monitoring coronavirus reports and weighing travel considerations

Officials at Pittsburgh universities say they are closely monitoring news about coronavirus.

The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, which enroll about 5,000 Chinese students at their Oakland campuses and have a variety of academic partnerships on the Chinese mainland, both have issued alerts about the mysterious respiratory virus first reported in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province.

CMU on Wednesday asked students, faculty and staff to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that individuals avoid all nonessential travel to China.

Although no cases of coronavirus have been reported on either campus, the schools are joining universities across the nation in monitoring events in Wuhan, where the New York Times reported officials had identified about 6,000 cases of the illness resulting in 130 deaths as of Tuesday.

China, with more than 369,000 students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities, leads the world in sending students to the United States.

Earlier this week, the Arizona Republic reported that an adult who had recently traveled to China was diagnosed with the virus at Arizona State University at Tempe. No other cases have been reported on U.S. college campuses to date.

Wednesday, a plane carrying 201 U.S. citizens evacuated from Wuhan, was permitted to leave Anchorage for its destination in Southern California after the passengers aboard passed a health test.

A spokeswoman for Carnegie Mellon University said there are no CMU students currently enrolled in programs in China.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we’ve asked students with a fever and cough who have been to Wuhan, China, within the last two weeks to visit University Health Services (UHS). Our UHS, Counseling and Psychological Services, and Office of Residential Education staff also routinely check in with students in need and make referrals for support as appropriate,” said CMU spokeswoman Julianne Mattera.

At the University of Pittsburgh, officials said no suspected cases of coronavirus have been reported at any of Pitt’s campuses or in the Pittsburgh region.

“While we currently anticipate no cancelations to travel plans for student programs which are scheduled for late March, we continue to monitor developments closely. We are assessing how many faculty, if any, may be traveling in the coming weeks,” said Pitt spokesman Kevin Zwick.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh-based Brother’s Brother Foundation is soliciting contributions and making arrangements to send assistance to Wuhan, Pittsburgh’s Chinese sister city.

Officials said they are coordinating with the the Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center and Pitt’s Asian Studies Center and partnering with Chinese and international aid agencies on the ground to ensure aid is channeled effectively.

A spokesman for Brother’s Brother said the agencies are requesting respiratory masks and personal protective equipment.

Officials said credit card donations can be made at www.brothersbrother.org. Checks should be made to the Brother’s Brother Foundation and sent to: Brother’s Brother Foundation, Note China Relief, 1200 Galveston Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15233.