St. Lawrence County universities have canceled or made changes to study abroad and travel programs amid concerns over COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.

In an email shared with the campus community Saturday, Hagi Bradley, vice president and dean of student life, and Karl Schonberg, vice president of the university and dean of academic affairs, from St. Lawrence University in Canton announced students studying in Italy for the spring semester have been called back to the United States.

After the State Department upgraded its travel advisory for Italy from a Level 2, “exercise increased caution,” to a Level 3, “reconsider travel,” SLU made the decision to cancel its Cortona Program for the remainder of the semester and advised students in Sorrento and Rome return to the United States. A total of 15 students were enrolled in programs in Italy, and the university said those students can complete their academic semesters online.

“The health and safety of our students is our top concern, and we are monitoring updates from state, federal and international health organizations daily,” SLU officials wrote. “The risk to our campus community at this point is minimal; however, this could change quickly if the number of reported cases in the United States continues to rise.”

With the exception of Italy, SLU’s international programs are still operational, with 188 total students participating in international programs this spring. The Center for International and Intercultural Studies will continue to make recommendations to SLU senior staff about off-campus travel and spring break trips, according to SLU officials.

SLU coronavirus updates can be found on the university’s communications web page.

Clarkson University in Potsdam has also canceled its international programs in Italy following the increased travel advisory level, and in South Korea after a State Department Level 3 advisory was also issued last week.

The State Department can issue travel advisories at one of four levels, with Level 1 as, “exercise normal precautions,” and Level 4, “do not travel.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues similar advisories on a three-level scale: Level 1 Watch, “practice usual precautions,” Level 2 Alert, “practice enhanced precautions,” and Level 3 Warning, “avoid all non-essential travel.”

Both Italy and South Korea have been assigned Level 3 Warnings by the CDC.

Clarkson students from South Korea returned to the United States last week, and students from Italy returned over the weekend, a university official told the Times. Returning students are now following CDC protocols and are being quarantined for a 14-day period.

SUNY Potsdam has not canceled semester-long study abroad programs at this time, but the university continues to be “in very close contact” with study abroad students around the world and in New York at other SUNY campuses, Director of Public Relations Alexandra Jacobs Wilke said.

The university’s President’s Council has canceled upcoming short-term international travel and spring break trips this semester.

No SUNY Canton students are studying abroad in affected areas at this time, and to SUNY Canton’s knowledge, no faculty members or staff have traveled to affected areas recently, a university official said.

Since Jan. 21, the World Health Organization has released 42 situation reports on COVID-19, numerous travel advisories have been issued by the State Department and CDC and nearly 90,000 confirmed cases have been reported by the WHO as of Monday. The first confirmed case of coronavirus in New York was reported Sunday.