CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK » Colleges asked to take precautions as virus spreads. Wright State restricts travel; University of Dayton is monitoring the situation.

In one of the busiest parts of the year for college athletics, area colleges are taking precautions in response to the little-understood and fast-spreading coronavirus.

The National College Players Association is advising colleges and universities to take special precautions, including “cancelling all auxiliary events that put players in contact with crowds such as meet-andgreets and press events.”

The association, which says it represents colleges athletes nationally, also advised schools to “take every possible measure to santize busses and airplanes used to transport players.”

The virus has infected more than 89,000 people and killed over 3,000 worldwide. And while most cases were relatively mild, quarantines, supply-chain disruptions and reductions in tourism and business travel are wreaking havoc on the global economy.

As of Saturday, Wright State University had restricted university travel to areas that have been hit hard by the virus — areas under a CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) “Threat Level 3” travel warning, such as China, Iran, South Korea and Italy.

“The university took this action out of an abundance of caution to protect the well being of its students and employees while abroad, even though the risk of outbreak is not fully understood and currently remains low in the United States, according to the CDC,” Wright State said on its web site.

“For personal travel, the university strongly advises all students, faculty and staff to observe travel alerts from the CDC and U.S. Department of State,” Wright State said.

In a statement Monday afternoon, University of Dayton officials said they are monitoring the situation.

The University of Dayton Arena will host the First Four NCAA Division I men’s basketball games March 17 and 18.

“The university is working with the Atlantic 10 for its women’s basketball tournament this weekend and the NCAA for the First Four March 17-18 to ensure a safe, healthy environment for our student-athletes and fans, but also urges them to take precautions they normally would to limit the spread of any illness,” UD said. “In addition to these events, the division of athletics’ medical and training staffs are working with all of our teams about steps they can take while traveling to remain healthy, including continuing to take precautions they normally would to limit the spread of any illness.

“UD also continues to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and state and local departments of health,” the university added.