ERRATUM: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that the Office of Student Affairs had advised students, parents and academic staff in a memorandum to wear N95 masks in University activities. There was no such memorandum. Paragraph 4 has been corrected to pertain to guidelines on student mobility programs. We apologize for the error.
THE UNIVERSITY on Monday temporarily suspended some inbound and outbound activities as part of precautionary measures against the 2019 novel Coronavirus (nCoV).
Activities suspended include in-campus activities such as recollections, goodwill games and sports fests, off-campus activities such as retreats, and other activities that will be held in auditoria or other crowded and closed spaces, such as general assemblies, college fairs and alumni homecomings, according to a memorandum issued by the Office of the Secretary General.
Academic units were advised to hold activities and events in smaller groups and inside classrooms. They were also advised to take precautionary measures in sending and receiving students to and from countries with confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV.
Students in outbound mobility programs going to countries with confirmed nCoV cases based on the latest World Health Organization (WHO) report, other than China, were advised to wear N95 masks, especially in public and crowded places.
Students and academic staff from countries confirmed to have cases of nCoV who will be coming in for inbound mobility programs were advised to observe WHO standard recommendations for the general public such as wearing N95 masks, especially in crowded places, within the first 14 days upon arrival in the Philippines.
On Feb. 2, the Department of Health announced the death of a 44-year-old Chinese male from Wuhan, China, who tested positive for the virus and was confined at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, marking the first nCoV death outside China.
According to the Feb. 4 WHO situation report, the total number of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases has reached 20,630, of which 20,471 were in China. Outside China, 23 countries have reported 159 cases. A total of 426 deaths have been recorded. C. R. C. Magpali
