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But in the US Chinese students hold mixed views on the threat posed by the virus.
A Shanghai native named Liyu Ed Sheng, who studies at Columbia University in New York, recently suggested online that Chinese students not return home for summer vacation, given the current situation.
“We should be responsible for our home country and our family and friends,” Sheng wrote.
Sheng’s proposal was hailed by people in China but generated a different response from Chinese students in the US.
“We cannot generalize the situation here,” said Lion Li, a PhD student in New York.
“It is not fair to say that every Chinese student who flies back to China will necessarily carry the virus,” Li added.
Li described his campus as “calm” about the flu.
“Of course, those who plan to go back to China for the summer should first consult a health professional here if they develop any related symptoms,” he said.
Some of Li’s friends have gone back for vacation already and he is planning to head home in August, he said.
“I will keep an eye on how this develops but will probably stick to my travel plans,” he said.
Many other Chinese students in the US were as casual about the virus as Li, although as of the beginning of May, the Education Department said that more than 400 schools had closed since the A(H1N1) outbreak. Local media reported that as many as 26 schools, mostly high schools, in New York have closed due to the spread of the virus, some of which are scheduled to reopen after Memorial Day (May 25). No college or university has reported a case of the flu so far.
The US has taken no particular anti-flu measures. In New York, residents have only received advice from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Hall that whoever develops flu symptoms should remain at home and seek medical assistance if severely ill.
So far the only victim of the flu in New York was 55 year-old Mitchell Wiener, an assistant principal at I.S. 238 in Hollis, Queens.
Christian Basi, spokesman for the University of Missouri, where China’s first confirmed case, Bao Xueyang, is pursuing a PhD, said there have been no A(H1N1) cases, although Bao reportedly carried the virus from the US to China.
Basi said no particular precautionary measures have been taken on campus, especially since summer vacation is just around the corner.
“We are following the rules set out by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including basic hygiene,” he said.
The school health’s department has been working with the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health on this issue, he added.
