Syracuse University has canceled its study abroad program in Madrid due to the spread of the coronavirus, the university announced Monday. 

SU Abroad suspended its program after Spain’s government decided to close all schools and universities in Madrid to limit the spread of the virus, said Steve Bennett, senior vice president for international programs and academic operations, in an SU News release.

The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, is a respiratory disease experts believe originated in Wuhan, China. The disease has spread to at least 97 countries, infected over 113,700 people and killed over 4,000 worldwide as of Monday night. 

There were 1,024 confirmed cases of the virus in Spain as of Monday evening, and 24 deaths, Spain’s Ministry of Health said. 

Spain’s schools and universities will be closed starting Wednesday. The Madrid program will hold its last in-person classes Tuesday and require all students to leave the county by Sunday, Bennett said. Classes will be taught online for the rest of the semester, he said. 

“We are disappointed for our Madrid students, whose once-in-a-lifetime educational opportunity is being cut short,” Bennett said. 

SU will compensate students for their travel home up to $600, according to an email sent to students in the program. Madrid students won’t be allowed to return to SU’s Main Campus until after spring break, Bennett said. 

The university suspended its study abroad program in Florence, Italy on Feb. 25 amid the spread of the virus in the country. SU Abroad’s programs in London, Strasbourg, France and Santiago, Chile remain open.

SU has also prohibited university-sponsored travel to countries with travel advisories ranked at Level 2 or above from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The advisories are currently in place for China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

The university on Monday also canceled all domestic spring break travel programs and banned all university-related international travel in response to the spread of the coronavirus. 

SU students, faculty and staff will not be allowed to travel internationally for university business until further notice, said Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, in a campus-wide email. The university also “strongly discourages” international travel for personal reasons, he said.  

The university has launched a web page to organize its ongoing response to COVID-19, Haynie said. A call center to assist SU community members in answering questions about COVID-19 will be available 24/7. 

Chancellor Kent Syverud met last week with officials from the SUNY system, New York state Legislature and state health and education departments to discuss the university’s response to COVID-19. 

There were 142 confirmed cases of the virus in New York state as of Monday morning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. No cases have been reported in Onondaga County.

Published on March 9, 2020 at 9:26 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3