Campus & Community

University Travel to Italy Temporarily Restricted

Saturday, February 29, 2020, By News Staff

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

With the continued spread of the novel coronavirus across the globe, health authorities are urging both vigilance and an aggressive response to containing the outbreak and preventing “sustained spread” of the virus. Syracuse University, much like other American institutions, is taking additional steps to protect its campus community.

Late yesterday, the CDC issued a Level 3 Travel Warning (Avoid Non-Essential Travel) for Italy and the U.S. Department of State raised its travel advisory to Level 3 (Reconsider Travel).

  • As such, all University students, faculty and staff are restricted from traveling to Italy (in addition to existing restrictions on travel to South Korea or China) for University purposes effective immediately. The University will actively monitor guidance from the State Department and the CDC with the intention of removing restrictions as soon as it is deemed safe to do so.
  • We strongly recommend that those who may have plans to travel to any of these countries for personal reasons reconsider their plans. We recognize there may be exceptional circumstances for individuals needing to travel to affected areas. If so, please contact Seth Tucker, director of global safety and support, at satucker@syr.eduor at 315.443.1968; he will provide guidance for submitting an appeal for consideration.
  • As a reminder, anyone traveling abroad for University purposes should provide their itinerary and contact information to temptravelregistry@syr.edu. The Office of Global Safety and Support is monitoring the outbreak and will alert travelers to developments that would affect their health and safety.
  • In addition to the risks posed by the virus, there are significant travel difficulties in all of these countries associated with efforts to contain the spread of the virus, which was a key factor in our decision earlier this week to suspend our programs in Florence, Italy.
  • Out of an abundance of caution, anyone who travels to an affected area during this temporary restriction will not be able to return to any University building or facility for a period of 14 days from their date of departure to allow for self-monitoring for any coronavirus symptoms. For students, please call the Barnes Center at The Arch at 315.443.8000 to coordinate with health and student support professionals. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care doctor.

Safety Precautions

It’s critically important that all members of our campus community continue to exercise good health practices. To learn more about preventive health practices, please visit the Barnes Center at The Arch website.

As you plan to depart campus for the upcoming spring break, we strongly urge you to research the impact of coronavirus on your planned destination. You should particularly consider whether a change in itinerary is prudent to avoid the possibility that your freedom of movement may become restricted due to health precautions. Some sources of travel information are included below, and it is wise to check with available resources local to your destination, as these sources are most aware of current conditions:

We will continue to provide updates to our campus community about information, protocols and recommendations from the CDC and the New York State Department of Health.

Sincerely,

Steve Bennett
Senior Vice President for International Programs and Academic Operations

Tony Callisto
Senior Vice President for Safety and Chief Law Enforcement Officer

Dr. Karen Nardella
Medical Director, Barnes Center at The Arch