A Chinese New Year celebration organized by Slippery Rock University students has been canceled out of respect for Chinese people who are not able to celebrate due to the coronavirus outbreak affecting the country.

The celebration was set for Feb. 15 at the Slippery Rock Township Municipal Building. The free event was organized by the Chinese Culture Association and the Chinese Club at Slippery Rock University and sponsored by SRU's College of Health, Engineering and Science and the Asian Studies program.

“The two student organizations on campus that organized this event said they no longer want to continue given the circumstances in China,” said Justin Zackal, SRU spokesman.

The coronavirus outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China, has killed more than 425 people in China and infected more than 20,000 globally.

Chinese New Year is a more than 4,000-year-old tradition that observes the start of the new lunar year, which occurred Jan. 25, and includes a “Spring Festival” that continues through Saturday. This year is the Year of the Rat, the first animal in the Chinese zodiac.

“We just feel this is not a good time to celebrate while over there they're fighting this really serious disease,” said Wei Bian, an associate professor of physical and health education, and president of CCA.

Students with family and friends in China are worried about their loved ones.“I asked the members if they wanted to continue with the event or cancel. The majority wanted to cancel. A lot have family members and friends in China. We're just really, really worried. We just hope everything will be fine,” Bian said.This year's event would have been the 12th annual Chinese New Year celebration held by the CCA, she said.This year's event was set to feature a buffet-style Chinese lunch, interactive games, trivia, singing and dancing.The traditional Lion Dance, in which students dress in a lion costume and mimic the animal's movements to bring good luck and fortune, was included, Bian saidThe food was ordered from local restaurants.“That's why we had to make a decision early. We had to tell them,” Bian said.The calendar and scheduling made organizing the event difficult.Bian said the Chinese New Year came earlier than usual this year and the CCA wanted to hold the event on Saturday, the last day of the New Year, but the municipal building was booked that day.In addition, the spring semester started Jan. 20, leaving students with little time to prepare for the event, she said.

Dr. Qin Eisler, a former medical researcher for the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, might have played a part in extending the quarantine period U.S. citizens face when diagnosed with the disease and said a treatment developed in the U.S. is being sent to China.She said she sent a letter to the CDC in the U.S. after learning that patients would be quarantined for three days.“I was shocked when I heard three days,” said Eisler, of Slippery Rock.On Jan. 30 she sent the letter saying the 14-day quarantine in place in China is needed here because patients who don't show symptoms still can spread the disease.She said she saw a news report Friday saying the U.S. CDC extended the quarantine period to 14 days.“I'm very happy that I could do something. It's a serious public health issue,” Eisler said.She said the source of the virus remains a mystery even though some have linked it to a seafood market in Wuhan.The good news is that the vaccine remdesivir, which was developed in the U.S. and proved successful in treating the first American patient, is being sent to China, she said.“The priority is to save lives,” she said.