By Michael Wood
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark – Over the past few months the world has struggled as it tries to contain the deadly Coronavirus outbreak. Beginning mainly in Wuhan, China, and with the vast majority of cases in mainland China, the disease has spread to dozens of other countries, including the United States. Recently, the U of A was even forced to suspend its study abroad program in Italy, as recently recorded cases have seen a large spike.
According to the university study abroad programs website, “In light of this information from reputable sources, and in an effort to protect the health and safety of our faculty and students, the University of Arkansas has determined the best course of action is to suspend academic operations of the Rome Center for the remainder of the semester and return all students to the U.S. to continue studies.”
The returning students will be forced to remain in quarantine for fourteen days. Despite the inconvenience, the U of A is going to work with its students to finish their remaining classes. While there is not current vaccine to treat the disease, the CDC has many different guidelines for preventing the catch of the disease. These include simple things like washing your hands and avoiding close contact with people who are sick. Despite the recent rise in wearing of masks, the CDC does not recommend that healthy people use this as a way to prevent the illness.
According to the CDC’S website, “Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).”
While the US was able to prevent deaths for a long time, recently the US has seen its first recorded cases of coronavirus related deaths.