A second IU student has been diagnosed with COVID-19 after studying abroad in Italy, according to an update on the IU coronavirus webpage. This is the second IU student to be diagnosed in less than a week.
The student was studying in the same city as the first diagnosed student but was not in the same program, IU spokesperson Chuck Carney said.
This second student has also not been on any IU campus in the 2020 calendar year. They returned to their home in the St Louis, Missouri, area last week, according to the IU webpage. The student returned home before they began to exhibit symptoms of the disease, Carney said.
Anyone traveling from a country with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention level 2 or 3 travel alert will be required to self-quarantine off campus for 14 days before returning to IU, according to the webpage. Countries with a level 2 or 3 alert include China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea. It is the person's responsibility to find a location for self-quarantine.
The academic situation of both diagnosed students is still being determined, Carney said. However, accommodations are being made to ensure they can make up credits they would have earned abroad. Carney said the details of the accommodations aren’t worked out yet.
Students in the Lombardy region of Italy have been required to return home, but some outside that region have elected to stay and finish their semester abroad online, Carney said. A majority of students studying abroad in Italy have returned home.
IU administration is in contact with all students who are still abroad anywhere, especially level 2 or 3 countries, Carney said. IU is working with students who wish to return home, and if they wish to stay, IU wants to ensure they take all necessary precautions.
For those that want to return to the U.S., Carney said it’s important to get them back soon.
“We really want to make sure they can get back before any travel restrictions are placed on countries where students are,” he said.
Students are not being updated via email about IU students contracting COVID-19. Carney said the public safety advisory emails are sent to students so they can take action to prevent getting sick. These advisory emails are not meant to be “news bulletins,” he said.
The IU coronavirus webpage will contain news updates.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated when the student was diagnosed due to an editing error. The IDS regrets this error
