The Board of Directors of the Universitat de València, presided by Mª Vicenta Mestre, has met this morning to study the situation of the Coronavirus’ crisis (COVID-19) in Italy, one of the main destinations of the UV students within the framework of the Erasmus programme.

Throughout this morning, the office of the principal of the Universitat de València has transferred all 140 UV students who are studying this semester in 11 Italian universities in the regions of Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna with which the University of Valencia has collaboration agreements.

The Italian government has suspended the activities in the universities of these regions until 29 February as a preventive measure for the Coronavirus’ health crisis (COVID-19).

‘As Principal of the Universitat de València I have always said that the most important thing is the people who are part of the Universitat', said the Principal in the mail addressed to each student, which informed them that, 'since the beginning of the first cases of Coronavirus in China, the Universitat de València has been in contact with the authorities of Public Health and Care of the governments of Spain and Valencia'.

The Universitat de València will continue in contact with the authorities in the field of universities and public health and will transfer the information available to students who are studying in the Erasmus programme in the areas where cases of Coronavirus have been detected.

It should be noted that the Universitat de València is a benchmark in internationalisation. At the moment, 466 students from the Universitat de València are studying in Italy within the framework of the Erasmus programme.

The Spanish authorities advise students to follow the instructions provided by the Italian authorities at any time. In this sense, the Universitat de València has also addressed each of the universities in the affected areas to inquire about the situation, noting that according to information provided by the Italian government there is no case of Coronavirus detected among university students in Italy.

You can find the announcement issued this afternoon by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education of the Ministry of Universities here: https://www.uv.es/rectorat/emergencies/coronavirus/SEPIE_COVID-19_24F20.pdf

In this URL you can find information about the symptomatology and general preventive measures provided by the Ministry of Health: https://www.uv.es/rectorat/emergencies/coronavirus/Infografia_nuevo%20coronavirus_CE.pdf

Regularly updated information about the Coronavirus’ crisis (COVID-19) is available on the Ministry of Health website: https://www.mscbs.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov-China/home.htm