All international Spring Break mission trips organized by Harding University have been canceled due to escalating concerns and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the virus causing an international coronavirus disease outbreak. Most groups were scheduled to leave Searcy Saturday, March 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tTrip leaders were notified around 5 p.m. today of the cancellations and instructed to inform their team members. The five previously planned domestic mission trips will continue as planned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tDirector of Spring Break Missions Andrew Baker said there are still logistics to be figured out regarding possible airfare reimbursements, but a final decision had to be made today whether trips would continue or not. Baker said they had to consider the possibility of students getting stuck outside U.S. borders as the global situation rapidly evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t\u201cWe can only answer what we can answer at this point,\u201d Baker said. \u201cWe had to make a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students now have the option of joining a newly assembled team traveling to Nashville to assist in cleanup efforts after tornadoes impacted Nashville and middle Tennessee early Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of my concerns is we have a number of students who can\u2019t go home,\u201d Baker said. \u201cSo we wanted to make sure there was an option given, and we now have transportation, lodging and food taken care of next week if someone wants to go to Nashville to help clean up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The trip to Nashville will also be open to any students who had not previously signed up for a mission trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision to cancel international Spring Break mission trips came in part due to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding student foreign travel for institutions of higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven the global outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) institutes of higher education (IHE) should consider postponing or canceling upcoming student foreign exchange programs,\u201d CDC released Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a campuswide email Wednesday, the University advised students and employees planning to travel abroad independently to reconsider due to the uncertainty of the developing situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany countries appear to be low-risk today, but that could change at any moment as this situation is evolving so rapidly,\u201d the email from the University stated. \u201cConsiderations for the locations you are visiting include quarantine requirements, available transportation options, and open and accessible public sites will vary from location to location and are changing daily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This announcement came one week after International Programs decided to send home students attending Harding University in Florence. There are no current plans of cancellation regarding other University International Programs or summer Global Outreach mission trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More information can be found on the University page Harding.edu\/Coronavirus.
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