3 Brown University Students Tested For Coronavirus

PROVIDENCE, RI — Brown University is the latest higher education institution to suspend international travel amid concerns over the new coronavirus. Three students are being tested, the university said Tuesday, though no confirmed cases have been connected with the campus at this time.

The three students have been put in preventive isolation pending the outcome of the test.

"The health and safety of the Brown community continues to be the University’s highest priority," the university said in a statement. School officials have taken several measures to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff and to prevent the spread of disease within the community.

All planned travel, both foreign and domestic, has been canceled, and university-sponsored events with 100 attendees or more will not be held, either on- or off-campus. While classes will still be held, no events of this size will be held until at least April 13.

In addition, all admission tours and information sessions will be postponed until at least the middle of April. More information is available on the university's website.

Students are encouraged to stay home from class if they are feeling unwell, and to take all other recommendations from the Rhode Island Department of Health. These include:

• Get a flu shot, and encourage those around you to do the same. While this will not help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it is an effective tool to keep people with the flu from developing complications that require hospitalization.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than a hand or the air.
• Stay home from school or work if sick.
• Keep surfaces, especially bedside tables, bathrooms and children's toys clean by wiping them down with disinfectant.
• Get plenty of sleep, by physically active, manage stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious foods to maintain good health.
• Masks are not recommended for healthy people to avoid getting the virus. Instead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asks that people with respiratory symptoms wear a mask to avoid spreading them to others.

Both the University of Rhode Island and the Community College of Rhode Island have also suspended international travel. Students who are currently studying abroad will be brought home in the coming weeks, URI said.

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