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NC State student self-quarantined after study abroad program suspended amid coronavirus outbreak

By Elsa Gillis, wsoctv.com
By Elsa Gillis, wsoctv.com

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina health leaders said they expect more cases of the coronavirus to start popping up in the state after they announced the first confirmed case Tuesday out of Wake County.

The virus has now claimed the lives of 11 people in the United States and President Donald Trump announced all passengers flying directly from Italy and South Korea will be screened several times.

ALSO READ: ‘Our state is prepared:’ Gov. Cooper says first person in NC tests positive for coronavirus

North Carolina State student Sydney Pittman is back home, self-quarantined in Mooresville instead of at school or Florence, Italy, after getting an email saying after the CDC’s warning about travel to Italy, they were suspending all study abroad programs in the country.

“When I got out that email, I was definitely really sad,” Pittman said. “As of right now, I’m just trying to stay inside and not expose myself to other people, just in case.”

She said the self-quarantine was recommended by her university.

Even though she and her friends were aware of the outbreak in other parts of Italy, she said there wasn’t mass panic or people wearing masks.

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It was not until last week when parents started to call their kids home and some universities started to close schools in Florence and that is when the impact became more clear.

“Getting flights home, I know my mom and my friend, who I flew with, we had trouble getting a flight that we didn’t have to pay $2,000 for,” Pittman said.

She said she did not have to undergo any health screenings flying back through Toronto and then, Raleigh.

“When I got back into the United States, I flew into Raleigh and we just got our bags and left,” Pittman said. “But, you would see people on the planes wearing masks and you’d kinda get antsy if you saw someone sneeze or cough.”

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While she didn’t face any health screenings flying out of Italy, she said she traveled to Barcelona and Amsterdam recently and when flying back into Florence, officials were checking everyone’s temperature for a fever.

In Washington D.C. on Wednesday, lawmakers reached a deal allowing more than $7 billion to go toward fighting the outbreak of coronavirus.

Congress is expected to approve the funding bill on Thursday and it could be signed by the president by the end of the week.

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