News Local/State

U Of I Suspends Sierra Leone Programs Over Ebola

 

The University of Illinois has suspended study-abroad programs in Sierra Leone and plans extra screening for students arriving from West Africa in response to the outbreak of Ebola.

Martin McFarlane is associate director of International Student and Scholar Services at the Urbana campus.

He told The News-Gazette that only a handful of the 3,500 new international students expected on campus this fall are from the area affected by the Ebola outbreak.
 
Dr. Robert Palinkas of the campus' McKinley Health Center said health care workers screen all new international students. But West African students will go through an additional interview and educational process.
 
The U of I has programs for students in Sierra Leone that will be suspended this fall. No students were studying in West Africa this summer.