Kate Perez, News Reporter, February 8, 2022, The Daily Iowan
When Carmela Furio flew to Italy this spring for their semester studying abroad, they had a packet of files with them on the plane in case they were stopped when trying to enter the country.
Furio, a third-year at the University of Iowa, said they had to bring passport documentation, as well as proof of COVID-19 vaccination and booster shot administration, and a negative COVID-19 test. All of the documents had to be checked and verified before they could board the plane.
“You had to have a negative COVID-19 test not within the time you left, but within the time you land in Italy,” Furio said. “It either had to be a PCR test within 72 hours or a rapid antigen within 24 hours.”
The university returned to normal approval processes for student international travel on Aug. 15. Autumn Tallman, UI senior associate director of international study abroad programs, wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan that all spring 2022 study abroad programs approved for UI student participation are continuing without interruption.
“We do not currently anticipate the cancellation of any spring 2022 programs due to COVID-19, as study abroad program providers have prepared to support students during the pandemic, just as UI supports students here on our campus,” Tallman wrote.