MUSC Issues International Travel Restrictions for Faculty, Staff, Residents & Students

A Message from David J. Cole, M.D. FACS - March 4, 2020

Dear MUSC Family,

Teams across the MUSC enterprise continue to monitor the ever-evolving information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding COVID-19 (formerly known as 2019-nCoV or the Wuhan coronavirus) as we prepare for any number of possible scenarios, including widespread infection in the United States and South Carolina.

I hope it comes as no surprise that we have numerous senior leaders, faculty members and clinicians involved and engaged with our state government and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). We will continue to provide a leadership role for our state in the planning, preparedness and amplification of public health messages in the days ahead, and we take very seriously our responsibility to care for our fellow citizens in the event of a statewide or local public health crisis.

An enterprise-wide task force met on March 3 and determined that effective immediately, all MUSC-sponsored international travel is prohibited for students and residents. All MUSC and MUSC Health-sponsored employee, faculty and staff international travel to CDC Level 2 and 3 countries is also prohibited until further notice. At this time, we are not prohibiting domestic travel; however, there are important protocols, risks and potential consequences you should bear in mind.

MUSC (web.musc.edu/coronavirus) and MUSC Health (muschealth.org/coronavirus) have cross-linked websites that offer important information related to this outbreak and its impact on our organization, ranging from enterprise-wide travel restrictions to ensure the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff to the best real-time resources for national, statewide and MUSC-specific health information.

I strongly encourage everyone in our MUSC family to familiarize yourself with these frequently updated resources and direct others to them as appropriate, if you have not already.

My thoughts are with all of those affected by COVID-19 and those MUSC family members with loved ones, friends and colleagues in affected areas. Thank you for all that you do to contribute to the MUSC vision and mission, and as always, we’ll navigate this together.

Yours in service,
David J. Cole, M.D., FACS
MUSC president

Resources

MUSC Health is also closely monitoring the virus and has established a Web page with updated information related to our clinical operations and other general information about the outbreak for patients and visitors.

General information related to the virus is available from the CDC through the following links:

Information for Travelers to and from China
Frequently Asked Questions
Coronavirus Fact Sheet (PDF)
Map with confirmed cases

Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the coronavirus and those MUSC family members with loved ones, friends and colleagues in affected areas.

Yours in service,

David J. Cole, M.D., FACS
MUSC president

Lisa K. Saladin, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost