Coronavirus Prevention: How Barnstable County Is Responding

BARNSTABLE, MA — Barnstable health officials said they are working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Cape Cod Hospital to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Officials said the risk of being infected with the virus is low, but health officials are encouraging residents to stay informed as the virus has been declared a global health emergency and a national health emergency by federal officals.

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

Barnstable County health officials in a statement said its coordinating with all 15 local health boards on Cape Cod and is taken the following steps:

• Helping to prepare the Cape’s public health officials, emergency management officials, public safety officials, hospitals, and health care providers to respond properly to coronavirus cases if they occur here. This includes reviewing training plans, use of safety equipment, establishing triage centers, and laboratory testing.
• Creating a webpage dedicated to the most up-to-date coronavirus information.
• Consulting with physicians and epidemiologists (professionals who study the spread of disease).
• Prepared to provide support and assistance to local town officials who will be directing their community’s response.
• Ordering supplies to have on hand if they are needed.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.
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