ODESSA, Texas — Spring break is right around the corner for UT Permian Basin.
That means students and faculty are booking flights and finalizing vacation plans.
However, any university-related travel is halted until further notice.
"We're just trying to reduce the risk of spread," UTPB President Sandra Woodley said.
UT system sent notice this week that no students, faculty or staff will be able to travel to a level 2 or 3 country, where there are widespread cases and transmission of the coronavirus.
There were no scheduled trips over spring break, however plans for a study abroad trip to Italy over the summer have been cancelled.
"We want to make sure that we provide as much flexibility for business to go on, but we want to take the necessary precautions to make sure that everybody's safe," Woodley said.
The news comes as UT Permian Basin has started conversations on how to handle the potential spread of the virus.
"We also are not trying to overreact or under-react," Woodley said.
University leaders have been present at meetings with the community, and part of the local conversation on how to plan for the possible spread of the coronavirus.
"We created a mechanism for anyone whether it's university or personal travel to be able to report if they are traveling outside of the United States. We want to be able to monitor that, provide the support to our faculty, staff and students, make sure that they understand the ramifications if they did travel somewhere and had a problem then we want to make sure that we're there to support them," Woodley said.
The university said they are making sure they're on top of the best practices at all times. Their goal and mission is to keep their students healthy and safe.
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