By Carolyn Quek & Kimberly Spykerman

NOT everyone wanted to go on the 10-day study trip to New York. Four people pulled out after the H1N1 virus broke out in the city on April 23.

In the end, a group of 20 Singapore Management University (SMU) business students and an associate professor flew up to the Big Apple for the New York Business Study Mission.

The mission - in its fifth consecutive year - is a popular 13-week module that includes visits to the city being studied, as well as top companies like Google.

Besides New York, the missions have also gone to countries like China, India, Middle East and Europe. Students have to write an essay on their return.

Among the original group of 25 bound for New York was a teaching assistant who pulled out at the last minute because she was afraid of contracting the virus.

During the trip, from May 15 to 24, the number of cases in New York went up from 178 to 280, particularly in the borough of Queens.

The university said in a statement last night that it went ahead after the Ministry of Health lowered the alert level from orange to yellow on May 11.

The flu also appeared to be mild and seemed to be contained, in New York, within Queens.

'This area was not part of their itinerary, neither did the students intend to visit Queens,' the statement added.

Those who did not feel comfortable with the plan had the option of pulling out with a full refund of their plane tickets, the university also said.

Their grades would be adjusted accordingly.

N95 masks and personal thermometers were issued to those who went ahead with the trip. They were told to take their temperature daily, buy hand sanitisers and use the masks at their own discretion.

While there is no ban on travel, the Health Ministry has advised against non-essential travel to affected areas, such as the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday that he did not know enough about the study trip to judge if it was essential for the students to go to New York.

'But if you ask me as a friend who is planning a holiday to go to New York next week, I will say why don't you consider some other place because it's an unnecessary risk,' he said.

Of the 20 students who went ahead, four are back, including the patient who is confirmed to have the virus.

Two others - Associate Professor Mark Chong and another female undergraduate who returned on the same flight - are being quarantined.

Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday, Prof Chong said that his charges had followed the university's advice closely by taking temperatures daily.

'Throughout the 10-day trip, no one said they were feeling bad,' he said.

He added that 17 students are still in North America although the majority have moved on from New York.

He has contacted the rest several times.

Most have had medical tests in Canada and Los Angeles, where they are holidaying, and are waiting for the results but all of them are feeling fine so far, he added.

The first student to return, early Sunday morning, has been on self-imposed home quarantine.

He said it had been six days since he left New York and he has been 'up and well'.

He has no regrets about going there.

'It was a great trip and an eye-opener. It's not every day that you get to step into the Google office and learn from them first hand. It's the invaluable learning experience that I wouldn't have missed,' he said.

SMU added that it currently has more than 800 students abroad either on personal or school trips and it is keeping close tabs on them.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.