Verilu Infante 
UTRGV – A sneeze, a cough, or even a handshake may seem like harmless actions, but with the recent emergence of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, people have started to take precautionary measures to the next level.
“Humans have never been infected with this before, so we don’t have any immunity and so hence it’s severe.”
UTRGV has suspended all UTRGV faculty, staff, and student related travel to China effective Jan. 31 until further notice.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are at least 5 states in the United States with confirmed cases of the virus. One of them being Arizona, which is just a state away from Texas.
We spoke to UTRGV Medical Director of Student Health and Wellness and she states we should still be cautious of our hygiene, even if the virus hasn’t been found in Texas.
“People travel, and if people travel, infections travel. So, we haven’t had any confirmed cases here in Texas,” said Cristel Escalona. “In general, for your good health, you should always, like wash your hands. If you’re coughing or sneezing, you cough into like either a tissue or your elbow. If you’re sick, stay home.”
Biology major Sammy Rios states he doesn’t worry and believes the CDC has things under control.
“I feel like we shouldn’t have to worry about it too much because there’s only a few amount of people that are coming from China,” said Rios. “They keep a list of who travels where and who comes from where so they have a list of who potentially could be sick, so you know, I feel like it’s under control.”
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