BY PETER CAMERON

An employee of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has the coronavirus, school officials announced Friday.

The employee, who works in the School of Veterinary Medicine building and is not being identified for privacy reasons, is quarantined at home, the university announced.

The employee recently traveled to a country with widespread transmission COVID-19, the specific strain of the virus spreading around the world. The university did not identify which country.

Officials will identify close contacts and asked to self-monitor and isolate themselves, the university said in the statement.

The university directed non-essential employees at the veterinary building to return home this afternoon and were asked to to self-monitor for symptoms.

Older adults and people with chronic medical conditions are at higher risk from COVID-19, according to the CDC.

To avoid contracting the virus, and to slow its spread, wash your hands often, avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay home if you are sick or may have been exposed to the virus.

Consult the CDC website for more information on the coronavirus.

Lauren Henning, junior investigator, assisted with this story.