Coronavirus Cases Expected In PA, Pittsburgh: Health Officials

PITTSBURGH, PA - While there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus yet in Pennsylvania, Allegheny County Health Department officials are investigating possible local cases and will begin using the state public health lab to test for COVID-19.

Department officials acknowledged at a briefing Monday that they do expect cases of the coronavirus to be confirmed as testing is expanded and said they are preparing for a possible outbreak locally.

“Preparing for public health emergencies requires continual and coordinated efforts that involve every level of government, the private sector, and residents,” said LuAnn Brink, the health department's chief epidemiologist. “We’re fortunate to have so many stakeholders in this
region who have been engaged and involved since possible exposure to COVID-19 first became a concern. These partners include healthcare providers and health care systems, schools and universities, and transportation agencies.”

The health department has been involved in ongoing briefings by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. County health officials have given briefings to emergency service providers at the county and city level.

Kristen Mertz, a health department medical epidemiologist, said many of the strategies used to help prevent contracting the flu are applicable to COVID-19. "Residents can take common sense precautions and practice healthy habits to limit the spread of germs,” she said.

Those precautions includes people staying home when sick; covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, elbow or sleeve; practicing good hand hygiene; avoiding shaking hands and routinely cleaning frequently-touched surfaces and objects.

But even those strategies don't provide complete protection from the coronavirus or the flu. Mertz said thus far this flu season, there have been 11,000 reported cases of the flu in the county, resulting in 127 hospitalizations and a dozen deaths.