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MU Halts Travel to Italy as Coronavirus Persists

Jesse Hall and MU columns.
Sara Shahriari / KBIA

MU is canceling spring and summer study-abroad programs to Italy, Provost Latha Ramchand announced in an email late Friday to campus deans and chairs. No new university-related travel will be approved to Italy until further notice, she said.

A post Friday evening on the MU International Center website said, “We have have notified the MU students currently studying abroad in Italy and and will work with them individually to find the option that best meets their needs.”

MU has 23 students in Italy currently, university spokesperson Christian Basi said Saturday.

The decision followed a change in Italy’s travel-warning status to Level 3 — to “avoid all essential travel” — by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of concerns about the novel coronavirus.

Italy has been the top study-abroad destination for MU students for five years, according to an annual report from the International Center. More than 200 students studied there during the 2018-2019 school year.

To read more, visit our partners at the Columbia Missourian.