We need to be prepared for Coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S., warns the CDC

When the Coronavirus (COVID-19) started making headlines in early 2020 the expert advice was simple: Don’t panic.

This week the CDC warned that the outbreaks of the virus will very likely happen in the United States, but it’s important to know that officials still don’t want parents to panic, they just want us to be prepared.

“We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad,” the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, told reporters during a news briefing Tuesday. “It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen,” Dr. Messonnier said.

It is totally normal to read this and be concerned mama, but there are several things we need to unpack before we let our anxiety overwhelm us.

Here is what you need to know about the Coronavirus response in the United States:

Top doctors are preparing for this

As the virus has spread rapidly overseas America’s top doctors have been monitoring the situation. In not quite two months’ time 80,000 people have contracted the illness and fewer than 3,000 of those people have died.

In the U.S., 53 cases have been confirmed (most of those were passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined off the coast of Japan or people who caught the virus while traveling overseas). There have only been two cases of person-to-person transmission on U.S. soil, according to the CDC.

The CDC has more than 1,000 professionals working on the response to this virus, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, epidemiologists, veterinarians, laboratorians, communicators, data scientists and modelers.

“CDC staff members are working with state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments and other public health authorities to assist with case identification, contact tracing, evaluation of persons under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19, and medical management of cases; and with academic partners to understand the virulence, risk for transmission, and other characteristics of this novel virus,” the agency states on its website.

And while there have been delays in implementing Coronavirus testing measures in the Unites States, experts are working to resolve issues and make testing more efficient. As the New York Times reports, the health and human services secretary “told a Senate panel that federal and local health departments will need as many as 300 million masks for health care workers.”

In other words, the experts in the United States are preparing to fight this virus and they want the American public to be prepared, too.

This could impact school, work and daily life

That’s why the CDC is telling us to get ready, not to cause panic or anxiety but just to set the expectation that life could be disrupted by this virus. “Now is the time for businesses, hospitals, communities, schools and everyday people to begin preparing,” Dr. Messonnier said Tuesday.

She says schools may have to close or otherwise adjust to an outbreak and students may have to start doing tele-schooling online. She also wants businesses to start preparing to hold meetings remotely rather than in-person and to encourage telecommuting during any outbreak. Community activities like sports and church may also have to be canceled or modified.

As the New York Times reports, “Scientists don’t know who is most susceptible to the new coronavirus. Children seem less likely to be infected. Middle-aged men seem to have been disproportionately infected, according to some studies.”

This could be really disruptive for families

It is true that the scenario Messonnnier is outlining could be really disruptive for families. No one wants this to happen, but if it does have to happen it’s a good thing we are getting the heads up.

Here are some steps you can take to prepare for possible interruptions to daily life:

• Talk to your workplace about any plans it has for operations during an outbreak.
• Speak to your child’s school or childcare provider about how it plans to operate in a worst-case scenario.
• Ask your doctor for an extra prescription of any medications your family needs, just in case an outbreak makes going to the pharmacy not possible.

Here’s how to protect yourself + your family from the Coronavirus

The CDC does not recommend that we all go buy face masks. Face masks are only recommended for people “who show symptoms of COVID-19…[and] health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).”

Instead, here’s what we can all do to avoid the illness, according to the CDC:

• “Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.”

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