BOSTON (WHDH) - Concerns over the deadly coronavirus have reached new highs as the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “global emergency.”
Though the risk level for contracting the virus is low here in Massachusetts, public health officials and doctors say they are ready to respond if necessary.
News of the first human-to-human coronavirus case in the U.S. has grabbed the attention of the nation, however, medical experts here in Boston say it’s not a game-changer.
“It’s not. This isn’t a surprise to us,” Dr. Ali Raja, Executive Vice-Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mass. General Hospital said Thursday. “We’ve known from China and a number of other countries outside of China that human transmission is possible.”
Dr. Raja said that his patients are constantly asking him what precautions they can take to protect themselves against the novel virus.
“Was your hands. Don’t touch a bunch of surfaces and then touch your face make sure that if you are coughing, make sure you cough into your elbow rather than your hand before shaking somebody else’s hand,” he tells them. “Most importantly, if you’re sick, stay home for everybody’s sake.”
When asked about the use of face masks, Raja said he does not believe they offer any real assistance in the prevention of infection.
“The face masks that most people are buying from stores aren’t effective for protection against viruses like the coronavirus,” Raja explained. “To really have an effective face mask, you need to have training on how to use it and it needs to be fit to your face.”
The city of Boston is also stepping up to take precautions against the spread of the virus by distributing fact sheets to all public school children.
On Thursday, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh told reporters that he has full confidence in how Logan officials are handling the three daily flights that arrive from China.
“I’m not concerned with it. There’s screening, we’re doing the screening. We’re making sure that our EMS is on hand if need be. We’re making sure that all medical personnel is there. Certainly, we’re in Boston, so if somebody was to test positive for it, we have the greatest hospitals in the world right here.”
Gov. Charlie Baker added that he doesn’t believe the Massachusetts Port Authority needs to be taking any additional steps at this time to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“Our view on this is that what we really need to do is to provide surveillance, which we do through our departments of public health across the Commonwealth, up to the CDC as every other state is doing,” Baker said. “Then act on the direction and guidance we get from the CDC in respect to how they want to deal with this.”
In China, about 170 people have died due to the coronavirus and nearly 8,000 cases have been confirmed.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)