Chinese officials quarantined Wuhan, China, Thursday, but not before 5 million travelers left the city, Mayor Zhou Xianwang reported.
The UF Student Healthcare Center received word Sunday that a student’s family member traveled from China to Gainesville before the coronavirus quarantine took effect.
UF Health directors of clinical operations are aware of and monitoring the students who were in contact with the family member, said Cecilia Luna, a spokeswoman at the UF Student Health Care Center.
“As far as we know, none of the students are displaying any symptoms of coronavirus,” Luna said. “We will not be concerned until we know there’s a confirmed case.”
At this point, the threat level is still relatively low, she said. There is no confirmed case of the coronavirus in Alachua County, she said.
The rumor someone traveled from China to Gainesville reached students through a popular Chinese social media app, WeChat, Thursday — the day the quarantine took effect.
A translation of the message read: “Friends in Florida, note that a UF parent flew over from Wuhan for the Chinese New Year. Please be careful. Wear a mask and carry hand sanitizer. If an outbreak occurs, report it.”
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, is where the new coronavirus outbreak was first reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Wednesday, Chinese officials said the death toll rose to more than 130 people.
The UF International Center has identified four people who traveled from China to Gainesville within the last two weeks, said UF spokesman Steve Orlando.
None of them traveled from Wuhan, Orlando said.
“There’s no guarantee that that’s everybody because there are many people who travel anywhere in the world who don’t register with the international center,” he said. “But we know of four.”
The center will provide the travelers with resources and information regarding the virus, he said, as well as those who are registered to travel to China in the near future.
Though there is currently no vaccine against the virus, health officials can diagnose it, according to the CDC. The Miami International Airport is one of 20 airports nationwide that will test travelers for the new coronavirus in a quarantine station.
The Chinese Student Association has postponed its Spring Festival out of concern that the virus could reach Gainesville, said Jiabin Du, the president of the Chinese Student Association.
“Especially right after winter break, a lot of us went to China and came back,” Du said.
The gala, originally scheduled for Sunday, is the organization’s biggest event of the year, Du said. She has spent the last four months planning the night and anticipated a crowd of more than 1,000 people.
Still, the organization’s members were relieved to hear it was postponed, Du said.
“Having a lot of people in one place is kind of a risk,” she said. “We just want to be safe.”
Contact Hannah Phillips at hphillips@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @haphillips96.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
