US Health Officials Talk US COVID-19 Outbreak

As a major COVID-19 outbreak in the United States looks more and more inevitable, health officials find themselves under immense pressure to address the mounting fear and anxiety. National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Nancy Messonnier warned that significant behavioral change may have to occur including at schools, workplaces, and social events. It is becoming clear that the viral outbreak is likely to get much worse in the United States before it gets better. This new reality was reflected in a plunging stock market.

While efforts in China appear to be having an effect on reducing transmission rates in the country, the spread of COVID-19 outside the country, and not just in neighboring countries, is getting worse. “The emergence of these new hubs underscored the lack of a coordinated global strategy to combat the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 80,000 people in 37 countries, causing at least 2,600 deaths.” While significant transmission has still not occurred in the United States, the rate of transmission in other parts of the world seems to foretell what is to come. Another factor to consider is continued uncertainty about transmission. While human-to-human transmission in close proximity is an issue what is also concerning are cases where the links of transmission are weaker.

Citation: Belluck, Pam and Noah Weiland. “C.D.C. Officials Warn of Coronavirus Outbreaks in the U.S. The New York Times, 25 February 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/health/coronavirus-us.html. Accessed 25 February 2020.

Post by Richard Hackmann