- Top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans that health experts foresee the novel coronavirus is spreading in the United States.
- The agency said the number of cases in the United States has risen to 57, with four more patients who were on a cruise ship.
- The CDC is employing a twofold approach, working to contain the virus while also implementing strategies to lessen the impacts on communities.
- The breakdown of US cases is eight in California, two in Illinois and one each in Massachusetts, Washington, Arizona and Wisconsin.
- CDC officials said there were more Diamond Princess passengers who tested coronavirus positive would be added to the US count once the results were official.
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans that the novel coronavirus has hit the United States, reports CNN.
Spread of COVID-19
“We expect we will see community spread in this country,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
“It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness,” she added.
The agency tweeted that Americans should think about getting ready, on 25th February.
“Now is the time for US businesses, hospitals, and communities to begin preparing for the possible spread of #COVID19,” it wrote, referring to the name the World Health Organization has given the novel coronavirus. “CDC continues to work with business, education & healthcare sectors, encouraging employers to be prepared.”
US coronavirus cases
The agency said the number of cases in the United States has risen to 57, with four more patients who were on a cruise ship.
While in India, President Donald Trump cast coronavirus as “a problem that’s going to go away,” but experts worry a pandemic could be in the offing, given the virus’ spread in Europe and the Middle East.
The CDC is employing a twofold approach, working to contain the virus while also implementing strategies to lessen the impacts on communities, Messonnier told reporters.
“We’ve also enacted the first quarantine of this scale in the US, and are supporting the State Department and (Department of Health and Human Services) in repatriating citizens from high-risk areas,” she added.
In addition, the center is tracking and isolating cases when it can, issuing travel advisories for affected countries and taking on the increasingly difficult task of preventing the introduction of new cases, most notably at points of entry into the United States, she said.
Messonnier described the containment strategies as “largely successful” and said they were geared toward “buying us more time to prepare.”
Cruise ship cases
The current total breaks down to 40 passengers who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was traveling in Asia, three people repatriated from China, and 14 US cases.
Of the 14 US cases, two of them were the result of person-to-person transmission, one coming in California and the other in Illinois, health officials said.
The breakdown of US cases is eight in California, two in Illinois and one each in Massachusetts, Washington, Arizona and Wisconsin.
The three patients repatriated from China came from Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the CDC.
The two person-to-person transmissions are concerning, as is the fact the virus has caused deaths — two of the three criteria necessary for declaring a pandemic, she said.
“As community spread is detected in more and more countries, the world moves closer toward meeting the third criteria: worldwide spread of the new virus,” she warned. “As more and more countries experience community spread, successful containment at our borders becomes harder and harder.”
CDC officials said there were more Diamond Princess passengers who tested positive for coronavirus in Japan and those cases would be added to the US count once the results were official.
Patho-physiology of Coronavirus
News of the uptick in US cases comes as the worldwide count topped 80,000 people, the overwhelming majority in China. At least 2,700 people have died.
The emergence of hundreds of cases outside China — namely, in Italy and South Korea — has served to disrupt global supply chains, corporate profits and American and international markets.
There are a handful of human coronaviruses that are known to be deadly. The viruses cause a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, similar to a common cold. The symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possibly a headache and maybe a fever, which can last for a couple of days.
For those with a weakened immune system, the elderly and the very young, there’s a chance the virus could cause a lower, and much more serious, respiratory tract illness such as pneumonia or bronchitis.
There is no specific treatment, but research is underway. Most of the time, symptoms will go away on their own and experts advise seeking care early. People with symptoms that feel worse than a standard cold should see their doctor.
Precautions
Doctors can relieve symptoms by prescribing a pain or fever medication. The CDC says a room humidifier or a hot shower can help with a sore throat or cough. Drink plenty of fluids, get rest and sleep as much as possible.
People may be able to reduce their risk of infection by avoiding those who are sick, avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth, and washing hands often with soap and water and for at least 20 seconds.
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Source: CNN
