The thirty-two students and two faculty members who were on the Study Abroad Program to London, England returned last week after the trip was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Now that the students are home from their travels, they are all currently under a 14-day self-quarantine as per the guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for travelers returning from high-risk countries.

“For the most part, up until we left, things seemed to be running per usual and there didn’t seem to be as much of a panic as there was in the United States. The main thing we were worried about was getting back into the country in such short notice,” said Public Relations major, Jamie Lima-Sabatini.

Yesterday a student from the program let faculty know that they were experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. This student was tested positive today by the Orange County Health Agency that they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus. A second student has also come forward saying they too are experiencing symptoms and are waiting on test results.

“When we arrived at LAX they ran quick tests on all of the passengers. We had to fill out forms from the CDC to indicate whether we had been experiencing a lingering cough, fever, or shortness of breath. Our temperatures were also taken before being able to leave the airport. I personally think that many people could have easily cheated through these precautions by lying on the forms they were given and taking fever-reducing medicine before leaving the plane,” said Sabatini.

The students and faculty left for England at the beginning of February to study courses in Business, Economics or English before Covid-19 was determined to be a worldwide pandemic. Last week, the staff at Fullerton College worked hard to ensure that all members were brought back safely and before England started putting restrictions on travel.

Fullerton College released a statement regarding the situation and other students self-reporting they have the virus. The students who self-reported indicated to the college that they may have been exposed, but have not tested positive.

Fullerton College will remain closed until Apr. 13 to all students, faculty and the public. This date is subject to change.

Please visit the statement made by Fullerton College for more details: https://coronavirus.fullcoll.edu/2020/03/25/study-abroad-student-confirmed-positive-for-covid-19/

The Study Abroad Program at Fullerton College has announced that the two additional trips planned for Kyoto, Japan and Rome, Italy have been canceled. For more information please visit their website https://studyabroad.fullcoll.edu/

Anyone concerned that they may be experiencing symptoms are recommended to follow the steps of the CDC Coronavirus Self Checker https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/testing.html