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Update on Coronavirus and Travel to China

By Duke Today Staff

Duke officials continue to monitor and respond to the impact of the 2019 novel (new) coronavirus, particularly with regard to travel and activities in China.  The Health Crisis group, a subcommittee of Duke’s Emergency Management Committee that includes physicians from Duke’s Infectious Disease department, has been meeting since December when the illness was first identified and continues to mobilize all resources to inform and assist the university community.

Duke has launched a dedicated website at https://sites.duke.edu/coronavirus/ that provides links to reliable sources of information on campus and worldwide and the latest updates from Duke, including:

  • Effective immediately, Hubei Province in the People’s Republic of China has been added to the Duke Restricted Regions List (RRL).
  • Duke Kunshan University in Kunshan, China, has suspended classes in all programs until Monday, February 17 and access to the campus is restricted to current students and essential personnel only until Saturday, February 15. 
  • The North Carolina Division of Public Health has reported  that a patient at Duke University Hospital who was being tested for 2019 novel coronavirus is not infected with the virus. Negative results were received on Saturday, January 25, from testing performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

If you traveled to China in the last 14 days and feel sick with fever, cough or difficulty breathing, you should seek medical care right away. Please call ahead to Student Health, your doctor’s office or emergency room and advise them of your recent travel and symptoms.

  • Students with these symptoms should contact Student Health at:  919-681-9355, option 2 and ask to speak to a triage nurse
  • Employees with these symptoms should contact Employee Occupational Health & Wellness at 919-684-3136, option 2 and ask for a nurse; after business hours call the Blood and Body Fluid exposure emergency hotline at 919-684-8115
  • Anyone who is planning travel to China in the next 90 days is strongly encouraged to register with the Duke Global Travel Registry at www.travel.duke.edu/registry.  This will enable communications to directly reach those whose travel may be impacted should further restrictions be put into place.

This is still a rapidly changing situation and we encourage you to monitor Duke’s coronavirus website — https://sites.duke.edu/coronavirus/ — as well as Duke Today and official university messages for the most current information from Duke and for links to resources at the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO).