Potential coronavirus case in Lawrence, Kansas, reason for caution — but not panic
A hospital patient in Lawrence, Kansas, who recently traveled to Wuhan, China, is being tested and treated for a new strain of the coronavirus.
The patient, who has respiratory symptoms, is in isolation, in a room specially designed for infection prevention, according to a statement from LMH Health.
George Diepenbrock, a spokesman for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said, “Obviously, we want to be cautious, and we’re taking it very seriously.” The patient is not seriously ill right now, he said.
As for what the public should know and do, he said that if you’ve had close contact with someone who has traveled to Wuhan in the last two weeks and has symptoms, you should see your health care professional. Otherwise, “it’s flu season anyway, so wash your hands, don’t touch your face, and stay home if you’re sick.”
There’s no reason to worry about going to public places in Lawrence, he said, even if “the public needs to pay attention.”
More than 100 people have died of the respiratory illness caused by the virus in China, where at least 4,600 cases have been reported.
Hong Kong has closed its border with China as a result, and 17 other countries have reported confirmed cases. Five cases have been confirmed in the U.S., in Washington State, Illinois, Arizona and California.
The State Department is recommending that those in the U.S. follow the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid all nonessential travel to China, where “there is an ongoing outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that can be spread from person to person.”
Today, in our interconnected world, threats to public health on the other side of the planet do affect people in every corner of it.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has called for an expansion of screening for the virus that’s already happening at some major U.S. airports. Especially after the possible case in nearby Douglas County, that makes sense.
Dr. Rex Archer, health director for Kansas City, says that while he does expect to see more cases in the United States, at this point he’s more worried about panic over the virus than about the virus itself.
“I wouldn’t be going there myself right now; their hospitals are overwhelmed,” Archer said of China in an interview. “But at this point, I’d have no trouble traveling to visit a relative in any of the cities” with confirmed cases in the U.S., where “they’re working diligently and monitoring all of the folks that meet the criteria. People need to take a deep breath” and remember that an average of 50 or 60 people die of influenza every year in Kansas City.
Still, the Kansas City Health Department has told employees that no vacations are likely to be approved any time soon.
At Kansas City International Airport, “We’re just on standby to see if anything additional will be done in terms of screening,” said spokesman Joe McBride.
Before news of the possible case in Lawrence, he said, “Sometimes, being in the Midwest and not having a lot of nonstop flights from faraway countries can be an advantage.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 3:20 PM.