Latest Wuhan Coronavirus Updates

This post is following up on yesterday's update on US cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus respiratory illness and local precautions. New information and links below, but first, as of this posting, all the news I've seen at the local, state and federal level puts the general risk here as "low at this time."

The CDC had an update on the status of the outbreak yesterday, but in its risk assessment still stated that "the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is considered low at this time." The Governor of Illinois noted yesterday that the State of Illinois had been preparing for the possibility of cases here before the confirmed case in Chicago. From the Springfield Journal-Register:

A Chicago woman who returned from China this month is currently hospitalized and isolated, but doing well, according to the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Ngozi Ezike. She added that CDC officials landed in Chicago this morning, and Pritzker said the CDC, IDPH and local agencies are closely monitoring the situation.

“Illinois has a strong public health system that has been proactively preparing for this situation,” Pritzker said. He advised people to take the same precautions as one would with the flu, such as washing your hands and calling ahead of a doctor’s visit if experiencing symptoms.

That full article here. He also sent out a series of tweets yesterday assuring that the State was dealing with the potential problems and the risk remained low. The Mayor of Champaign retweeted that this morning.

Locally there have been preparations as well for screening and some proactive measures on campus delaying a gala for international students celebrating the lunar new year. From the News-Gazette:

Amid growing concern about an outbreak of a new virus, the Chinese American Association of Central Illinois is postponing its annual Lunar New Year gala that had been scheduled for Saturday at Parkland College...

More than 5,800 students at the University of Illinois are from China, and Emily Liu, the director of the annual gala, said some who returned from winter break are from Wuhan.

“We are afraid that this kind of large gathering of people will endanger public safety,” she said through a translator.

Full article here. Local hospitals have been preparing to screen for possible cases as well. From the News-Gazette eEdition this morning (subscription):

“We encourage patients to call ahead if they feel like they may have been exposed, so we can take proper precautions to isolate them to protect themselves and others,” said Carle spokeswoman Jamie Mullin.

Isolation measures would involve the patient being masked and placed in isolation and medical caregivers putting on masks, gowns and other protective gear, Mullin said.

There’s no need to panic if you walk into a waiting room and see patients in masks, she advised.

That full article in the eEdition here (subscription). Carle had a lot of additional information on precautions and for people with concerns here. Christie Clinic had information including travel declaration forms for people recently having traveled in Wuhan China here. McKinley Health Center had information for students here.