As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to update travel restrictions in the wake of COVID-19, the University has taken important measures to protect the safety of students, faculty and other members of the community. For students who chose to study abroad this spring, the virus has meant more limited travel, and for many of them, complete withdrawal from their programs. Additionally, many international students do not know when they can visit home. However, while the virus is not as widespread in the United States as in some other countries, domestic travel does not seem to be a huge concern to many going into the Spring Break.

I’m a junior from Bellevue, Washington, right outside of Seattle. A care facility in the suburb of Kirkland, where a coronavirus outbreak has garnered national attention, is five miles from my house. A hospital that is treating at least one coronavirus patient is only one mile away. The state’s governor has declared a state of emergency. Out of caution, my old high school has closed and is only teaching online until at least April 13. And, given new cases of unknown origin combined with limited testing and the fact that the disease spreads easily with a long gestation period, it is evident that the novel coronavirus may already be more prevalent than expected in the area.

Seattle is not the only U.S. region that has been hit by the coronavirus. Yet the University has been surprisingly silent about domestic travel. I have friends from the area that have canceled their flights home for Spring Break, but others will certainly travel to coronavirus-stricken areas, including Seattle, during this time. People fly between St. Louis and at-risk regions every day, and airports are popular places for any disease to spread. When I called Student Health Services, I was told not to worry about traveling home over break. But, things I am being told by friends and family at home indicates otherwise. While unofficial information and personal accounts should be taken with a grain of salt, this concern isn’t completely unwarranted.

There are not yet any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in St. Louis or in Missouri as a whole. However, this is likely to change with time and more widespread testing. We as a community must be prepared for the possibility of facing this disease regardless of when it hits our region. This starts by using caution when traveling, such as reducing contact with others, sneezing/coughing properly and frequent handwashing. And, as always, we must remember to be respectful to our peers as this issue grows. Fears can stoke different responses from different people, but the most important thing going forward is that we are here for each other in times of need.

Proper steps for taking care of your own health and other preventative measures can be found on the CDC’s website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html