Coronavirus: Florida Should Plan Now For Pandemic

BRADENTON, FL — It’s only a matter of time before the new coronavirus spreads to communities across the United States, including Florida, a top Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official warned Tuesday.

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, told reporters in a conference call the question is no longer if the coronavirus will spread across the United States, but when. The illness is now officially called COVID-19.

In Florida, State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees stressed there were no confirmed cases of the illness in Florida.

"This is a rapidly emerging situation that we are carefully following," Rivkees said. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Health and Human Services will provide updated information as soon as it becomes available."

Communities, schools and businesses in Florida and elsewhere should begin preparing now for “the expectation that this could be bad,” the CDC's Messonnier said.

“I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming and that disruption to everyday life may be severe. But these are things that people need to start thinking about now,” she said. “You should think about what you would do for child care if schools or daycares closed.”

Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez of Florida said the state's Department of Health is preparing for any potential outbreak of COVID-19.

"After regular calls with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our state's surgeon general and his dedicated team of professionals are equipped with the necessary guidelines for screening, prevention and treatment options," she said. "Rest assured that under Gov. DeSantis, the Sunshine State will continue leading in the field of public health and the safety of our residents is of top priority."

Related: Easy Ways To Avoid Getting Sick This Season

Globally, at least 80,000 people have been infected and 2,700 people have died from the new coronavirus, creating a global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. It is spreading so quickly overseas that infectious disease experts and scientists warn there may be no way to contain it.

The CDC said Monday that 53 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States. Three dozen of the patients are among passengers repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined for weeks off the coast of Japan; three patients were infected in Wuhan, China, the center of the outbreak, and the others contracted the virus while traveling abroad.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news conference Monday the “sudden increase in new cases” outside of China is “deeply concerning.”

Flu Versus The New Coronavirus

The symptoms of the new coronavirus are similar to seasonal influenza, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Both are infectious respiratory illnesses, but they’re caused by different viruses.

Both cause fever, cough, body aches and fatigue, and can result in pneumonia. Both illnesses can sometimes cause vomiting and diarrhea. Both can be spread from person to person by sneezing, coughing or talking.

Common good-health practices such as frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and staying home from work or school during the course of the illness can help control the spread of both illnesses.

Neither responds to antibiotic treatment, but both may be treated by addressing symptoms, such as reducing fever. Both illnesses can be severe enough to require hospitalization.

But there are some distinct differences between the two:

Flu is caused by several different types of viruses, while COVID-19 is caused by the new coronavirus, which is also called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.

Johns Hopkins says there is some evidence COVID-19 could be airborne, “meaning that tiny droplets remaining in the air could cause disease in others even after the ill person is no longer near.”

There is no vaccine to protect against the new coronavirus as there is against influenza. Scientists around the world are racing to find a vaccine for the new coronavirus, although none currently exists.

A company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has shipped vials of its novel coronavirus vaccine to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease for further research.