The threat of COVID-19, a respiratory coronavirus that was first detected in China, has caused federal, state and local officials to take a variety of precautions to prevent further spread within the United States.
As of Monday, March 16, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported 3,487 confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
“I don’t want anybody to start panicking or anything,” Fannin County EMA Director Robert Graham said. “We’ve gotten reports from around the county of people going up and buying cases of hand sanitizer. … Don’t hoard up stuff. It’s always a good idea to keep a small supply of stuff on hand for anything, not just coronavirus, but always keep bottled water and/or normal supplies that you would for normal preparedness around the house.”
Graham explained that COVID-19 is just another type of coronavirus, similar to MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV.
The CDC lists its symptoms as fever, cough and shortness of breath that may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure. Cases have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and most rarely, death.
Graham said the main issue the population is facing is that it is a new virus that no one has been able to develop an immunity to.
“The population that is more in danger of having more severe symptoms are people over 65 and very young children,” Graham said. “However, that being said, no child, that we’re aware of, has died from the coronavirus worldwide so far.”
As the virus becomes more prevalent, people will start to develop an immunity, according to Graham.
He said, “We don’t know what’s going to happen the next two or three years, but it’s probably going to rear it’s head again this fall. It may continue on through the summer. But I think eventually, my opinion, from everything I’m reading and hearing from the CDC and Department of Health, eventually we’re probably going to wind up thinking of it kind of like we do the flu.”
He believes it will likely spread to Fannin County and may have already.
“We’re probably going to get some cases in Fannin County,” he said. “There very well may be cases in Fannin County now. People think they have a cold, they may actually have this coronavirus, and they’ll get better and never know they had it.”
Fannin Regional Hospital officials mirrored Graham in stating that COVID-19 is likely to continue to spread in the U.S.
“While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not know at this time whether the spread or impact of coronavirus will be mild or severe, Fannin Regional Hospital’s infectious disease specialist and clinical team are trained and equipped to care for patients in the event the virus spreads to our area,” Fannin Regional Hospital CEO Jason Jones said. “Our team meets daily to ensure that all aspects of our operations from supply procurement to staff training meet the healthcare needs of our community.
“We are taking this situation very seriously as with any infectious communicable disease. As CDC and Georgia Department of Community Health Guidelines evolve, we will continue to work closely with these organizations to ensure that our hospital and community has access to the most accurate and up-to-date information available.”
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, the risk of COVID-19 to the general public remains low.
Fannin Regional Hospital suggests the following prevention measures for any respiratory virus:
•Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
•Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
•Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
•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.
Those who have recently traveled to areas where there are ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 and develop fever with cough and shortness of breath within 14 days of your travel, or have had contact with someone who is suspected to have COVID-19, are urged to stay home and call their health care provider or local health department right away. Fannin Regional officials state to call before going to a doctor’s office, emergency room, or urgent care center and tell them about any recent travel and symptoms.