Almost all coronavirus cases originated in China
Should you panic? The answer is no. Right now the coronavirus epidemic is 99% in China, and no community-wide outbreaks have occurred outside its borders. That’s good news, at least for now, because no traveler from China to the U.S. has proven to be patient zero in an outbreak here. In the U.S.
When a community has a crisis, nearby municipalities rush to help. That goes for wildfires as well as epidemics. The situation which would concern me the most is if many communities are hit and have to direct their resources to their own people and not be able to help others. We’re a long way from that right now.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a plan of action. There’s no testing labs for the new coronavirus outside of the CDC at present, so your local family doctor probably will send you to the hospital. That’s a problem if the hospitals are already crowded. If outbreaks occur here in the US, you may have to work to keep your family safe without much help.
It’s yet unclear how bad this outbreak will get outside of China’s borders, but some simple preventive measures will be worth much more than a pound of cure (for which there is none, at present).
That means you need to use non-pharmaceutical interventions.
This includes some changes in your lifestyle in a community-wide epidemic, including:
• Social distancing. This means staying away from large crowds,
• Not going to work if you’re sick or a lot of people there are sick,
• Keeping kids home from school
• Isolating sick persons in your family from healthy ones.
Avoiding close contact with possibly sick individuals is very important, especially if you don’t have personal protection gear. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet (2 meters) or in a closed room with a coronavirus victim without any personal protection gear. An unprotected person having direct contact with infectious secretions of a 2019-nCoV patient (for example, being coughed on) also qualifies.
The best policy is to wash hands frequently and carry hand sanitizer when touching surfaces. Close attention should be focused on avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth.
Masks and protective eyewear help you to avoid infection but chances are you’ll touch a lot of areas at work, school, or home that have been touched by a bunch of other people. This virus appears to be able to live on surfaces for longer than the average microbe, so work surfaces must be disinfected often. Work surfaces, by the way, includes computers used by more than one person. Other surfaces that could get contaminated could be your shirt, pants, shoes, and more.
just one type of n95 respirator mask
For masks, look for a supply of N95 masks, these are better than standard surgical masks but are NOT 100% protective. During outbreaks in your community always wear n95 masks or better if you must be outside of your home. This isn’t just an option, it’s a sign of social responsibility.
It’s not just important to have proper masks, but more importantly to know
Joe Alton MD
Should you panic? The answer is no. Right now the coronavirus epidemic is 99% in China, and no community-wide outbreaks have occurred outside its borders. That’s good news, at least for now, because no traveler from China to the U.S. has proven to be patient zero in an outbreak here. In the U.S.
When a community has a crisis, nearby municipalities rush to help. That goes for wildfires as well as epidemics. The situation which would concern me the most is if many communities are hit and have to direct their resources to their own people and not be able to help others. We’re a long way from that right now.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a plan of action. There’s no testing labs for the new coronavirus outside of the CDC at present, so your local family doctor probably will send you to the hospital. That’s a problem if the hospitals are already crowded. If outbreaks occur here in the US, you may have to work to keep your family safe without much help.
It’s yet unclear how bad this outbreak will get outside of China’s borders, but some simple preventive measures will be worth much more than a pound of cure (for which there is none, at present).
That means you need to use non-pharmaceutical interventions.
This includes some changes in your lifestyle in a community-wide epidemic, including:
• Social distancing. This means staying away from large crowds,
• Not going to work if you’re sick or a lot of people there are sick,
• Keeping kids home from school
• Isolating sick persons in your family from healthy ones.
Avoiding close contact with possibly sick individuals is very important, especially if you don’t have personal protection gear. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet (2 meters) or in a closed room with a coronavirus victim without any personal protection gear. An unprotected person having direct contact with infectious secretions of a 2019-nCoV patient (for example, being coughed on) also qualifies.
The best policy is to wash hands frequently and carry hand sanitizer when touching surfaces. Close attention should be focused on avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth.
Masks and protective eyewear help you to avoid infection but chances are you’ll touch a lot of areas at work, school, or home that have been touched by a bunch of other people. This virus appears to be able to live on surfaces for longer than the average microbe, so work surfaces must be disinfected often. Work surfaces, by the way, includes computers used by more than one person. Other surfaces that could get contaminated could be your shirt, pants, shoes, and more.
just one type of n95 respirator mask
For masks, look for a supply of N95 masks, these are better than standard surgical masks but are NOT 100% protective. During outbreaks in your community always wear n95 masks or better if you must be outside of your home. This isn’t just an option, it’s a sign of social responsibility.
It’s not just important to have proper masks, but more importantly to know
- How to put them on
- How to achieve a proper fit
- Take them off safely
Joe Alton MD
