The University of Washington said on Friday that it would cancel in-person classes and have students take courses and finals remotely while the Seattle area grapples with a growing coronavirus outbreak, in a move that other colleges around the country are preparing to follow if the virus becomes more widespread.

Over the last few days, a growing number of universities have mobilised emergency planning teams to envision what a shutdown would look like, especially if students bring the virus back with them from spring break, which starts on Friday.

Already, some students have been warned that they should be prepared to learn online, as many students studying abroad in Europe and Asia have been forced to do.

The level of concern rose on Thursday with the announcement that a junior at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee who had been studying in Italy had tested positive for the virus after his study abroad programme was cancelled and he returned to his hometown, Chicago.