Cultural Vistas is closely monitoring the outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) first identified in Wuhan, China, and actively assessing the potential impact on its global community.

Infections with 2019-nCoV, most of them associated with travel from Wuhan, are now being reported in a growing number of international locations, including the United States.

On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”. That same day, U.S. Department of State raised its Travel Advisory Level for China to “Level 4: Do Not Travel”.

At this time, we have advised all Cultural Vistas exchange participants against traveling to China. This continues to be an evolving situation and all participants should to monitor the latest developments and adhere to all local and national public health directives when considering upcoming travel.

To date, Cultural Vistas has no reports of any participants or staff contracting the virus.

Below we have compiled several useful links to help you stay informed:

• World Health Organization Updates
• U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) Summary and Updates
• U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories
• Basic Preventative Measures Against the Novel Coronavirus

The health and well-being of our exchange program participants is of paramount importance to us.

Cultural Vistas will continue to monitor and assess the impact of the outbreak, and will issue additional guidance as it becomes available.