(Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Although almost 600 people have died from the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, and more than 28,000 others have been infected, the World Health Organization has stopped just short of declaring the virus a pandemic, instead referring to it as a “public health emergency of international concern.” The illness is so concerning, however, that law schools have started to take notice, and one has even taken steps to suspend its annual study abroad program in Beijing.
Professor Robert Hu of St. Mary’s University School of Law has taken about 20 law students to China for a five-week study program each summer for the past decade, but this summer, the school simply isn’t willing to risk its students’ health. “Some of our students were disappointed,” Hu said, “but we told them, look this is really for the safety of everybody involved.” Local news outlet KENS 5 has additional details:
“When we found out from the U.S. State Department [that they] issue[d] the advisory which says American citizens should not go to China and also the WHO, the World Health Organization, considered the Chinese situation a public health emergency globally, we decided out of [an] abundance of caution for the safety of our students we should suspend the program,” Hu said.
Hu said major airlines canceling their flights to China also played a role but in the end he stressed, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
“We don’t want to take risks at all.”
Hu says St. Mary’s Law will resume the study abroad program in China next summer.
Is your law school changing its plans when it comes to study abroad programs due to the coronavirus? Please get in touch with us and let us know. Thanks!
St. Mary’s School of Law suspends study abroad program in wake of coronavirus outbreak [KENS 5]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.