Temple closing Italy campus over coronavirus; students told to leave

This article originally appeared on NBC 10 Philadelphia.

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Temple University says students in Italy will have to make their own arrangements and fly home as the school closes its satellite campus in the European nation over concerns about the deadly coronavirus.

The news comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning for Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to Italy as the country deals with an outbreak of more than 1,100 cases. That number is by far the highest figure outside Asia, the Associated Press’ Colleen Barry reports.

As a result, Temple will close its Rome campus for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester.

“For you, this means you will need to make arrangements to gather your belongings, leave Italy, and return home as soon as possible,” the school told students in an update posted to its website.

Students are asked to notify Temple of their current whereabouts and fill out the Temple Rome Request for Remote Course Completion form so that the school may know students’ plans once they return home.

Students are asked to contact the AA Emergency Phone at +39 333 494 8391 or the TURome Emergency number at +39 069 670 1506 for help.

“We know you will have many questions that are not covered here, and we continue to pursue the answers to help make this transition as easy as possible,” the school continued in its statement.

Online classes will be offered starting March 9, the school said, adding that more details about the classes will be released in the coming days.

As it stands, the school says students will not be reimbursed for fees associated with leaving Italy. However, they should keep receipts in case that changes.