Published January 14, 2015
A group of 20 students studying in Japan through the University of California, Davis, have been quarantined after two of their Japanese tutors were diagnosed with swine flu, a program coordinator said Wednesday.
UC Davis summer abroad coordinator Kathy Cunningham said the students arrived in Kyoto on June 27 and were quarantined to a Kyoto dormitory on July 3. Japanese health officials are monitoring the group for symptoms. So far, no students have shown any sign of the disease.
One tutor was diagnosed with swine flu on July 3 and the second was confirmed on July 5, Cunningham said.
"We're staying in contact with the situation and how it develops," Cunningham said. "Whatever health precautions the Japanese take are their responsibility, and we are respecting that."
Officials said the students have been in touch with their parents during the quarantine, which was set to end on Friday. Thirteen students are from UC Davis, six are from other UC campuses and one from a community college.
Cynthia Haven, whose daughter Zoe Patrick is part of the group, said she's concerned about what is happening in Kyoto with the quarantine but she was more concerned about the missed time experiencing Japan.
"We are kind of concerned that the kids get the Japanese experience that was the reason they were going over," Haven said. "They are grouped with the Americans, and at a time when they are supposed to be studying foreign culture, they are sitting around looking at each other."
Cunningham said the students have been completing course work during the quarantine and that field trips and other excursions have been rescheduled.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/20-u-s-students-quarantined-in-japan-for-swine-flu