U of S urges students, staff to heed travel advisories

Institution says it has emergency plan ready to roll if coronavirus detected here

The coronavirus first seen in the Chinese city of Wuhan has likely arrived in British Columbia, where a 40-year-old man has showed symptoms after returning to Vancouver from a work trip to the area where the outbreak began.

That makes Vancouver the second Canadian city after Toronto to see someone with the novel virus.

In Saskatoon, the University of Saskatchewan continues to monitor the situation closely and a pre-existing emergency management plan is in place if needed, spokesman Gord Hunchak wrote in a prepared statement. “We have partnerships with a number of institutions throughout China and we are working to get a full view of how the coronavirus may affect current and planned activities.”

The university is advising staff and students to follow the Government of Canada travel advisories for the area. The site currently recommends avoiding all travel to the province of Hubei, which includes the city of Wuhan, “due to the imposition of heavy travel restrictions in order to limit the spread of a novel coronavirus.”

The University of Regina (U of R) has cancelled all centrally organized and funded travel to China for the next three months.

In a statement on Monday, the U of R said travel by faculty, researchers and students being funded by the university would require the dean’s approval and must include a risk mitigation plan.

Last week, Professor Volker Gerdts, CEO and director of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization — International Vaccine Centre (Vido-intervac) at the U of S said it’s a wait and see situation on the spread of coronavirus. Gerdts and his team have received approval from Health Canada to work on developing a vaccine for the virus. He said efforts to contain the Sars-like virus will hinge on quick identification and containment in places where it does appear.

Provincial health ministry staff are working alongside health authorities to ensure health workers in the province have up-to-date information about the virus. Postmedia News

— With files from Mark Melnychuk