US universities are canceling study abroad programs in Italy and urging students to return to the US amid soaring coronavirus cases

• Universities have begun taking the precautionary step of canceling their study abroad programs in Italy as the country grapples with the worst coronavirus outbreak outside Asia.
• Syracuse University, Fairfield University, and Elon University have indefinitely suspended their academic programs in Florence and are helping students return home.
• New York University has set a tentative start date of March 29 for their program, pending health updates in Italy.
• Florida State University said its Florence Study Center is not offering classes for the remainder of the week, but its residences in the city are open for students planning to stay in Italy over spring break.
• COVID-19 has infected more than 320 people in Italy and killed 12, prompting officials to put entire towns on lockdown.
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As cases of coronavirus pile up across the globe and fears of a pandemic pick up steam, US universities are calling off their Italy study abroad programs and urging students to leave the European country.

So far, New York-based Syracuse and New York universities, Connecticut's Fairfield University, and Elon University in North Carolina have issued statements confirming that they're canceling their offerings abroad. NYU's program has been suspended through "at least March 29," while the other three don't have an end date in sight as yet.

Florida State University told ABC News that classes at its Florence Study Center have been called off for the rest of the week, but residences in the city are open for students who want to spend spring break there.

The ongoing coronavirus crisis originated in Wuhan, China, late last year. It has since infected over 81,000 people around the world, killing more than 2,700. Mainland China has the most cases - 78,064, and is followed by South Korea with 1,261 and Italy with 323. Almost 700 people aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined for weeks in Yokohama, Japan, also tested positive for the sickness.

After a sharp uptick in the number of cases and with 12 people dead, Italy is grappling with the worst coronavirus outbreak outside Asia.

Italy has put almost a dozen towns on lockdown with the hope of containing the spread, and its Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that this quarantine could last for weeks. Schools and other public spaces, including theaters and museums, are deserted, and an estimated 100,000 people are likely to be affected by the travel restrictions, CNN reported. Police officers and members of the armed forces are helping the government enforce these strict impositions, the BBC said.

It's these updates and guidance from health experts that prompted Syracuse University officials to make the decision to suspend its academic program to safeguard the "safety, well-being and free movement" of its 342 enrolled students, according to a statement on the university's website.

"With this in mind, we have made the decision to close the academic program at our Florence campus and assist our students with returning to the United States," the statement read. "We believe this is absolutely necessary to reduce the risk of our students being unable to leave Italy due to Italian containment efforts."

Fairfield told ABC News that 142 students were in Florence, while NYU said it had roughly 300, and Elon had 21 and a faculty member.

"While we do not believe there is a pressing health threat to the NYU Florence community, the past month has taught us that countries may swiftly and unexpectedly make decisions that can significantly affect one's ability to travel," NYU said in a statement on its website.

It went on to say that students have been asked "to leave Florence for this period" and NYU Florence staff are on hand to help "students in making arrangements as needed until the campus closes."

NYU spokesman John Beckman told ABC News that the university decided to put precautionary restrictions in place rather than waiting too long and running the risk of the students getting quarantined.

"We believed it was far better to temporarily suspend and have our students leave Florence than potentially be caught behind a quarantine, where our efforts to help them would be limited," Beckman said, noting that he's not sure when after March 29 the program might be reinstated.

The university's online classes will go on as planned so students can keep up with their school work, NYU's website said.

Insider has reached out to Marist College and the Eastern College Consortium, which works with Wesleyan University and Wellesley and Vassar colleges, for information about their programs in Italy.

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