Some Syracuse University students who traveled to areas with confirmed cases of the coronavirus may have returned to SU’s campus despite self-quarantine requirements.

Students returning from SU Abroad’s Florence program may have returned to campus, said Keith Kobland, media relations manager. The university has suspended its abroad programs in Florence and Madrid due to the spread of the virus.

SU previously mandated that students returning from Florence stay off Main Campus until after spring break to self-monitor for symptoms. SU announced Tuesday that it will transfer all classes online at the end of the academic day Friday, effective through at least March 30.

The novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is a respiratory disease that has spread to at least 103 countries, infected more than 118,100 and killed more than 4,000. There were 173 confirmed cases in New York state as of Tuesday afternoon, but no confirmed cases in Onondaga County.

The Department of Public Safety has collected “a number of hearsay reports” of the presence of Florence students on SU’s campus, Kobland said. The department received two names of returning Florence students suspected of violating the quarantine as of Monday night, he said.

The department is monitoring the use of the students’ ID cards to verify whether they have been on campus, Kobland said. If the students use their IDs, SU staff will be notified and will follow up with the students, he said.

The department can’t control whether returning Florence students self-quarantine while they are off-campus, Kobland said.

“At present, there are no public health requirements for these students, and our jurisdiction ends at the border of campus,” Kobland said. “Thus, a student’s presence at a sorority/fraternity or other campus-adjacent property would be beyond our purview.”

The university has sent students from the Florence program three communications directing them to remain off campus, Kobland said. The last communication stated that stepping on SU’s campus may result in a referral for violating the Code of Student Conduct, he said.

Eli Schwemler, a junior communications design major, was part of the Florence program. He returned to his home in Philadelphia after the program was suspended and flew back from Florence shortly before the U.S. government began testing travelers from Italy for the virus, he said.

“I was surprised by the fact that they didn’t test me,” Schwemler said in a text message to The Daily Orange. “It seems as though the majority of (students in the program) left when I did.”

Schwemler said he did not know of any students who returned to SU’s campus who were not screened for the virus.

Members of the SU College Republicans also returned to campus after attending a conference in Maryland where a person who had coronavirus was present, College Republicans president Rody Conway said in a text message to the Daily Orange.

Ten members of the SU College Republicans arrived at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Feb. 26 and departed Feb. 29, Conway said.

Although there was a person who had coronavirus at the event, SU did not contact members of the College Republicans afterwards, Conway said. The group is still allowed on Main Campus, he said.

“A couple of us have called various health centers including (the Barnes Center at The Arch), and they didn’t give us any information,” Conway said. “They just said to call back later.”

The College Republican members did not come into contact with the patient, and have shown no symptoms, Conway said. The event and hotel staff at the CPAC event also tested negative for the virus, he said.

“As of now, we’re just behaving normally…taking the same precautions as everybody else,” Conway said.

Published on March 10, 2020 at 10:18 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu