We’re concerned, we’re taking preventive steps, but we’re not panicking.
Our hope is everyone else in Bladen County will do likewise with regard to the coronavirus.
The Health Department here is monitoring the situation. Dr. Terri Duncan leads an accomplished staff, and we’ll know immediately if reason for alarm exists. For now, she and her team say risk to North Carolina is low and the best practice is to take “steps to prevent the spread of flu” in order to prevent the spread of any respiratory virus.
It is important to know what the virus is, and what it is not.
A story from The Associated Press says, “Human coronaviruses are common throughout the world, causing respiratory illnesses that result in runny noses, sore throats and coughs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus is named for nobs that protrude from its surface, making it resemble a crown.
“The virus family includes the common cold, as well as more serious illnesses such as SARS, which spread to dozens of countries, sickening more than 8,000 and killing 774 people before it was contained in 2003, according to the CDC. Also in the virus family is MERS, a respiratory illness that emerged in 2012 and is associated with a high mortality rate.”
The new discovery is capable of causing more serious illness than a common cold.
The flu shot won’t help with this new virus, and there is no approved treatment. Either a person’s immune system clears it, or there is a death. So far, there have been more than 360, all but one in China.
From all that we’ve heard and read, there is relatively low likelihood of anyone in America contracting the virus that has not recently traveled to China.
But what the experts are also saying is more attention should be directed toward influenza.
The flu has killed thousands this season, including 54 in North Carolina. It has fatally struck all ages: 31 were 65 or older, 12 were 50 to 64, 10 were 25 to 49, and one was between 5 and 17.
A spike in warm weather this week notwithstanding, we’re eight weeks from the traditional end of flu season on March 31. And in North Carolina, the Department of Health and Human Services has extended reporting to May 16 – that’s more than 14 weeks away.
So do as Duncan and her crew say: wash your hands often with soap and water, and for at least 20 seconds; cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing; avoid exposure to others who are sick; and if sick, stay home!
We want a healthy Bladen County. We can all do our part. Take preventive steps, and do not panic.