University cancels staff travel

Friday, 4 April 2003

The University of 新浪彩票 has cancelled staff travel to a number of countries because of warnings by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

DFAT and WHO have issued warnings against travel as a consequence of war, terrorist activity and the risk of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

"Being mindful of staff safety, where these warnings are of the type, 'defer non-essential travel', 'defer all travel' or 'do not travel', I am instructing that all international travel to these destinations previously approved but not yet taken is to be cancelled from today's date, and that planned future travel to these destinations will not be approved," says the University's Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Penny Boumelha.

The countries to which this instruction currently applies are:

Afghanistan
Algeria
Angola
Bahrain
Burundi
Canada (SARS)
Central African Republic
China (SARS)
Colombia
Haiti
Hong Kong (SARS)
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Ivory Coast
Jordan
Kenya
Kuwait
Lebanon
Liberia
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Pakistan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Serbia and Montenegro
Singapore (SARS)
Solomon Islands
Somalia
Syria
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela
Vietnam (SARS)
Yemen

DEFAT's current travel warning in relation to destinations affected by SARS outbreaks (China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore) states that Australians in transit at airports are at very low risk of exposure to SARS.

Therefore staff whose approved international travel takes them through the airpor