The Coronavirus continues to spread across the United States and has affected multiple citizens, some who have recently traveled outside of the country. Cases of the virus have been spread to 12 states at the time of writing. The majority of cases reported from Washington and California.
On Saturday Feb. 29, 2020, the first death was reported in Washington State. Washington officials have recently declared a state of emergency.The country’s total number of known cases is 603.
Bryan Kirkman, 18, from Doylestown, said, “I am not concerned about the virus just because there is a very slight chance of me getting it.” As of March 9, there are 22 reported deaths from the virus in the United States. 18 of these deaths occurred in King County, Washington.
The spread of the virus is linked to citizens who have traveled outside of the United States and into high-risk countries. But, public officials state many of the infected patients have no recent history of leaving the United States.
Cases broke out in Georgia as well. A young couple were infected after returning from Italy. Florida and North Carolina also confirmed cases of the virus. On March 2, the FDA stated how up to a million people could be tested. These tests will cause the number of known cases to grow.
Kathryn Gingolaski, 18, from Warrington, said, “There are tons of viruses every year that kill people, like Ebola, but the only reason people care is because it isn’t just hitting Asian and African countries. People start to care when wealthy, white countries are infected.”
Recent moves have been made in the White House to subtract the possibility of the virus spreading. Vice President Mike Pence responded to the American public regarding the situation on behalf of the White House.
According to CNN, Pence said, “Despite today’s sad news, let’s be clear: The risk to the American people of the coronavirus remains low, according to all of the experts that we are working with across the government.”
Meanwhile, President Trump focused on engaging with multiple agencies and moving in the right direction. Trump corralled pharmaceutical firms, securing an agreement to work together to develop a vaccine.
Jesse Bechtel, 19, from Warrington, said, “I’m not scared of the virus. I believe that what the president is doing is a great improvement and is a good first step to take in the matter.”
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recommended that individuals practice every day prevention measures like frequent hand washing, staying home when sick, and covering coughs and sneezes.
Other suggestions made have been to host community-based interventions. School dismissals, event cancellations, social distancing, and creating employee plans to work remotely can help slow the spread of the virus.
Due to the unforeseen rapid spread of the disease, many commercial and pharmaceutical companies have begun to run low on various supplies ranging from hand sanitizer, bottled water, toilet paper, and face masks.
Many bulk stores such as Sam’s Club and Costco implemented a limited item system that prohibits customers from taking more of a specific item in order to equally distribute them and avoid more shortages.
The virus shows no sign of stopping anytime soon, its important to remember the health precautions and advice in order to keep it from spreading any further.