“Check your health insurance to see if it includes international travel coverage, the CDC recommends. Also, consider travel health insurance and medical evacuation insurance. The CDC estimates that — without insurance, a medical evacuation can $100,000 or more.”
Consider traveling in the U.S.!
CDC Centers of Disease and Control Prevention
The corona virus spreads continues to grow around the globe, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your family.
“I told my children that while I didn’t think that they were at risk right now, we, as a family, need to be preparing for significant disruption of our lives,” says Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC plans to expand testing across the U.S. as a preventative measure.
Currently, if you live in the U.S. the risk of getting the virus remains very low, but public health officials say there will likely be outbreaks in the United States. So this is a good time to review your emergency game plan.
Here’s what you need to know to make good decisions to plan, prepare and even prevent the spread of the disease.
1. This virus is contagious, but it’s not as deadly as other outbreaks
In China, more than three quarters of the cases have been classified as mild. Symptoms include low-grade fever and a cough. Some people also experience fatigue, headaches and, less frequently, diarrhea.
Overall, the death rate in China is estimated at 2 percent, and the average age of death among those with COVID-19 is in the 70’s. People with underlying medical problems, and particularly smokers, seem to be at higher risk.
Compared to prior outbreaks of novel viruses, this coronavirus appears less deadly than other human coronaviruses that have spread in recent years. For instance, the death rate was about 34% for MERS, and about 10% for SARS.
The flu causes more than 12,000 deaths a year in the U.S. An annual vaccine is the most effective way to prevent flu, but there are other strategies to prevent it. So far, there’s no vaccine against the new coronavirus, but some of the same strategies to prevent flu can also protect against coronavirus.
2. To fend off coronavirus, follow flu prevention tips
The top tip: Wash your hands. Why? Viruses can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, close contacts can be infected. In addition, the virus can end up on door knobs, elevator buttons and other surfaces. If you touch those surfaces then touch your eyes, nose or mouth, you can become infected.
This is why it’s important to wash rigorously. Here’s the CDC’s guidance.
“Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.”
“Americans are friendly. We not only shake hands, we also hug. These are ways we can transmit the virus,” Katz says. She recommends an elbow bump.
Here’s 5 more things to remember, per the CDC:
3. Don’t panic — start to prepare
This is not the time to panic, but it is a time to prepare – good old fashioned preparedness planning for your family,” says Rebecca Katz, who directs the Center for Global Health Science and Security.
Think about the threat of a possible outbreak in your community the way you’d think about a big snowstorm or a hurricane. If it never hits, great. But if it does, you’ll be glad you prepared.
Don’t hoard, but do stock your cupboards with some extra food and cleaning supplies. Each time you grocery shop, buy a few extra items. Shelf stable foods such as beans and rice are good options. Also, utilize your freezer to preserve foods, everything from meats and vegetables to cooked grains and bread. Think about having enough on hand to last a few weeks.
“If there’s widespread virus in your community, you may not want to go to the [store]. You may want to distance yourself from others,” Katz says.
4. The uncertainty of masks to prevent illness
Overall, there’s not conclusive evidence that wearing a face mask can help prevent people from being infected by the virus. And public health officials give mixed messages about usefulness for the general public. As we’ve reported, masks may not fit the face tightly, so you’re still able to breath in infected droplets. And, experts worry that masks can give a false sense of security.
Health care providers are trained to use masks properly, and there’s evidence that they’re effective in clinical settings. For people at home, the CDC recommends using masks in certain situations. For instance, if you’re caring for an infected person at home, the proper use of masks can protect the caregiver.
5. Be smart about travel
The CDC updates its travel advisory information frequently. The federal government uses a 4 level scale to rank risk. Level 1 = lowest risk, Level 4, highest.
For Italy, where there’s been sustained spread of the novel coronavirus, there’s now a Level 2 Alert. The CDC advises that older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel. “Travelers should avoid contact with sick people and clean their hands often by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with 60%–95% alcohol.”
Check your health insurance to see if it includes international travel coverage, the CDC recommends. Also, consider travel health insurance and medical evacuation insurance.
If you’ve planned a cruise or overseas travel consider the possibility of travel disruptions in the event of an outbreak. “Think about the consequences of being caught on ship or over a border when decisions are being made,” that could limit or disrupt your travel without much warning says Christopher Mores of George Washington University. If you were quarantined, what would your back-up plan be for your work and family responsibilities back home? This is definitely something to consider.
“Affected Geographic Areas with Widespread or Sustained Community Transmission (Remember Widespread or Sustained and the U.S. is not a widespread yet).
Last updated February 26, 2020
Thanks through CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) as the reference for the update on 2/27/2020:
Limited information is available to characterize the spectrum of clinical illness associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). No vaccine or specific treatment for COVID-19 is available; care is supportive.
Last updated February 26, 2020
The CDC clinical criteria for a COVID-19 person under investigation (PUI) have been developed based on what is known about MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV and are subject to change as additional information becomes available.
Healthcare providers should obtain a detailed travel history for patients being evaluated with fever and acute respiratory illness. CDC guidance for evaluating and reporting a PUI for MERS-CoV remains unchanged.
Healthcare providers should immediately notify their localexternal icon or stateexternal icon health department in the event of a PUI for COVID-19.
Local health departments, in consultation with clinicians, should determine whether a patient is a PUI for COVID-2019. The CDC clinical criteria for COVID-19 PUIs have been developed based on available information about this novel virus, as well as what is known about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). These criteria are subject to change as additional information becomes available.
| Clinical Features | & | Epidemiologic Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Fever1 or signs/symptoms of lower respiratory illness (e.g. cough or shortness of breath) | AND | Any person, including health care workers2, who has had close contact3 with a laboratory-confirmed4 COVID-19 patient within 14 days of symptom onset |
| Fever1 and signs/symptoms of a lower respiratory illness (e.g., cough or shortness of breath) requiring hospitalization | AND | A history of travel from affected geographic areas5 (see below) within 14 days of symptom onset |
| Fever1 with severe acute lower respiratory illness (e.g., pneumonia, ARDS) requiring hospitalization6 and without alternative explanatory diagnosis (e.g., influenza)7 | AND | No source of exposure has been identified |
The criteria are intended to serve as guidance for evaluation. In consultation with public health departments, patients should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine the need for testing. Testing may be considered for deceased persons who would otherwise meet the PUI criteria.
Updated February 3, 2020
Healthcare providers should immediately notify both infection control personnel at their healthcare facility and their local or state health department in the event of a PUI for COVID-19. State health departments that have identified a PUI should immediately contact CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 770-488-7100 and complete a COVID-19 PUI case investigation form available below.
CDC’s EOC will assist local/state health departments to collect, store, and ship specimens appropriately to CDC, including during afterhours or on weekends/holidays.
Testing for other respiratory pathogens should not delay specimen shipping to CDC. If a PUI tests positive for another respiratory pathogen, after clinical evaluation and consultation with public health authorities, they may no longer be considered a PUI. This may evolve as more information becomes available on possible COVID-19 co-infections.
For biosafety reasons, it is not recommended to perform virus isolation in cell culture or initial characterization of viral agents recovered in cultures of specimens from a PUI for COVID-19.
To increase the likelihood of detecting COVID-19, CDC recommends collecting and testing multiple clinical specimens from different sites, including two specimen types—lower respiratory and upper respiratory. Additional specimen types (e.g., stool, urine) may be collected and stored. Specimens should be collected as soon as possible once a PUI is identified regardless of time of symptom onset.
“Think of your bones as a “bank” where you “deposit” and “withdraw” bone tissue. During your childhood and teenage years, new bone is added (or deposited) to the skeleton faster than old bone is removed (or withdrawn). As a result, your bones become larger, heavier, and denser.
For most people, bone formation continues at a faster pace than removal until sometime after age 20. After age 30, bone withdrawals can begin to go faster than deposits. If your bone deposits don’t keep up with withdrawals, you can get osteoporosis.”
National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
“Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus (purulent material), causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. A variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, can cause pneumonia.”
MAYO CLINIC
“Without HIV medicine, people with AIDS typically survive about 3 years. Once someone has a dangerous opportunistic illness, life expectancy without treatment falls to about 1 year. HIV medicine can still help people at this stage of HIV infection, and it can even be lifesaving. But people who start ART soon after they get HIV experience more benefits—that’s why HIV testing is so important.”
HIV.gov
“In late 2019, a new coronavirus emerged in central China to cause disease in humans. Cases of this disease, known as COVID-19, have since been reported across China and in many other countries around the globe. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus represents a public health emergency of international concern, and on January 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared it to be a health emergency for the United States.”
KFF Global Health Policy
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.
Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. All three of these viruses have their origins in bats; but also SARS-CoV is transmitted from civet cats to humans. Commonly called civet cats, civets are not cats. In fact, they are more closely related to mongooses than they are to cats. The sequences from U.S. patients are similar to the one that China initially posted, suggesting a likely single, recent emergence of this virus from an animal reservoir.
CDC is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus. The outbreak first started in Wuhan, China, but cases have been identified in a growing number of other international locations, including the United States.
Most Important to know is standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
“Every day, seven out of 10 deaths are caused by chronic diseases. Studies show that preventable chronic conditions cost the U.S. nearly $347 billion in 2010. It is a crisis that consumes 86 percent of our nation’s total health care expenditures. The daily toll is alarming, costly, and most importantly, preventable”
NCBI