Tacoma students kept off campus as ‘precaution’ following trip to China amid coronavirus outbreak
Four students from Annie Wright Schools are living off campus after returning from a recent trip to China amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The students are seniors who usually sleep in a campus dorm that holds 113 boarding students. They traveled home to China for the Lunar New Year.
“Just to exercise an abundance of caution but be reasonable, we thought they shouldn’t be in a dorm situation for a week,” Annie Wright spokesperson Lisa Isenman told The News Tribune.
The school reached out to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department when the students returned from the trip.
The health department determined that the students had no symptoms of coronavirus, nor had they traveled to Wuhan while in China.
“We advised them that (the students) could attend classes as normal, but the school decided to do otherwise,” said Steve Metcalf, spokesperson for the health department.
Isenman said the families of the students know of the arrangement, but she could not share where the students are staying due to privacy concerns.
Current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises that unless someone is showing symptoms or has traveled to and from Wuhan, there’s no need for isolation or testing, Metcalf said.
Annie Wright is unlike other schools, Isenman said, in that the students are living in close quarters in a dorm.
The school wants to make sure the students are “healthy and alleviate fears of families,” Isenman said.
The students were expected to return to the dorm after a week.
Pierce County schools, colleges
A new map monitors how fast and where the newly discovered Wuhan coronavirus is spreading around the world. So far, more than 200 people have died, all in China.
Washington activated the highest emergency response for coronavirus earlier this week. Cities and ports are preparing for any sort of threat.
School districts and colleges in Pierce County say they’re exercising caution.
Tacoma, Puyallup and Bethel school district officials have not needed to test for any coronavirus cases, they told The News Tribune.
“The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department advises us in this type of situation, and they presently have no concerns for Puyallup School District. We will work closely with the health department if any concerns come up,” district spokesperson Brian Fox said in an email.
Bethel schools have masks ready to go to respond to a communicable disease situation if one occurs, spokesperson Doug Boyles said.
The University of Washington Tacoma campus has had no reports of students meeting the criteria for testing for coronavirus, according to the university. The UW Seattle campus recently tested three students for the coronavirus, but the results were negative.
“While we do have international students from China on campus this year/quarter, and we do have several visiting scholars from China this quarter, none have reported travel or symptoms that would trigger testing or investigation,” UWT spokesperson John Burkhardt told The News Tribune.
“There is concern, certainly, among our students, about the outbreak, especially those students who have family or other connections to China,” Burkhardt continued. “UW has been communicating with our students, faculty and staff in various ways over the last couple of weeks to keep our community updated and to quell rumors and provide education about the facts of the outbreak and general suggestions for staying healthy.”
Earlier this week, University of Puget Sound sent a letter to students and staff stating there have been no cases of the virus at the university and that risk of exposure is low.
“Because this is already the season for flu and other viruses, we ask all students, faculty, and staff who have illness accompanied by fever — regardless of their travels — to refrain from going to classes, labs, the dining hall, offices and other places where they could spread illness among others,” the letter stated.
Pacific Lutheran University has students studying in over 15 countries during January, PLU spokesperson Zach Powers said. The school is monitoring coronavirus updates closely.
“The university is in regular contact with traveling students, staff and faculty with updates from the CDC and State Department and prepared for contingencies if required,” Powers said in an email.
The city of Tacoma announced Friday a donation system was set up to collect money for its sister cities in China, Mianyang and Fuzhou.
“While public health officials in Tacoma and across the United States continue to closely monitor this global health crisis, we have grown deep and connected relationships with Mianyang and Fuzhou,” Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said in a press release. “This is an opportunity to be responsive to our global neighbors in their time of need by sharing resources and support. I urge everyone to support the Tacoma Sister Cities program in these efforts.”
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
