State and Porter County health officials are waiting to see if a person potentially infected with the novel coronavirus does in fact have the virus.
Porter County Health Department Administrator Letty Zepeda says the individual has been isolated and is recovering.
“They no longer have a fever,” she says. “They are actually doing a great job at getting better.”
Zepeda says medical tests have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The results can take anywhere from 24 to 36 hours,” Zepeda says. “And my understanding is that CDC received those samples first thing this morning.”
She says one of the difficult aspects about identifying the coronavirus is that its symptoms are close to those of the flu.
“Same symptoms,” Zepeda says. “The usual: possible fever, cough, shortness of breath. It’s pretty much the same, which is why it’s so hard to determine that it is the coronavirus.”
She says that while media coverage is necessary considering the impact the virus is having on China, people in the United States should really be focusing on the flu – especially when you compare China’s population with the U.S.
The Associated Press reports nearly 6,000 cases of the virus in China as of Wednesday, that’s in a population that is well over one billion people.
“There seems to be more fear about the coronavirus and people are being more relaxed about the influenza, when we’ve had more death out of the influenza,” Zepeda says.
She says the following rules can help keep you safe:
- Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds
- Sanitize everything you can
- Cover your mouth and your nose when you cough and sneeze
- Be conscientious of others who may be sick
