Shawnee Mission East choir cancels European trip because of coronavirus concerns
Shawnee Mission East has canceled a spring break trip one of its choirs planned to take to Europe because of the spread of the new coronavirus there.
According to the choir’s website, the group had planned to travel to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria.
“There were developments overnight (in Europe) that changed a lot of things about our trip. It pains me to do this, but it is the responsible thing to do,” Ken Foley, the school’s director of choirs, said in an email to parents on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Czech Republic prime minister Andrej Babis closed schools indefinitely and banned gatherings of more than 100 people in an effort to contain the spread of the disease, known as COVID-19. The country has reported 40 cases since March 1, according to Reuters.
Like most area school districts, Shawnee Mission’s spring break runs March 16-20.
Concerns about the virus have forced other groups in the metro to cancel mission trips overseas and families to change their spring break travel plans. Colleges and school districts are also asking students to rethink their spring break travels, especially international trips.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 11:11 AM.
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