Rhode Island establishes state task force on coronavirus

PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Department of Health said Tuesday that it has established a task force to coordinate preparedness for the new coronavirus that has spread around the world after first being detected in Wuhan, China. No cases have yet appeared in Rhode Island.

The department said it would maintain a robust system to receive and follow up on illness reports from health care providers in the state and has regularly disseminated summaries of the national situation to providers. It has also provided criteria to evaluate patients, and information on collecting specimens, testing, and reporting. The Novel Coronavirus Task Force includes leaders from the State Health Laboratories, the Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology, and the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Health care providers have been instructed to evaluate patients for possible novel coronavirus infection if they have a fever and symptoms of lower respiratory illness (such as cough or difficulty breathing), and if they have traveled to Hubei Province, China (which includes Wuhan) in the two weeks before symptom onset (or if they had close contact with a person who is being evaluated for coronavirus).

 “The CDC believes the risk right now for people in the United States to be low," said Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, health director. "It is also important for people to remember that someone’s risk is closely tied to their recent travel history, and the travel histories of their immediate contacts. Someone’s nationality alone is not a risk factor for coronavirus."

"Preparedness and collaboration are core functions of public health,” she added.

Given the similarities between coronavirus symptoms and flu symptoms, and given that a lot of flu is currently circulating in Rhode Island, RIDOH has followed up on individual illness reports. However, there have not been any confirmed cases of this new form of coronavirus in Rhode Island.

This new coronavirus strain has only occurred in people since December 2019. To date, there have been five cases diagnosed in the United States and several thousand cases diagnosed internationally (the majority of them in China). Experts are still learning about the range of illness. Reported cases have ranged from mild illness (similar to a common cold) to severe pneumonia that requires hospitalization. So far, deaths have been reported mainly in older adults who had other health conditions.

Chinese officials report that person-to-person spread of coronavirus is occurring in China. Person-to-person spread in the United States has not yet been detected. Officials are still learning more about how the novel coronavirus is spreading in China. However, because human coronaviruses most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, Rhode Islanders are reminded to take the same measures that health care providers recommend annually to prevent the spread of the flu and other viruses:

     • Get your flu shot and encourage the people around you to do the same.

• Wash your hands often throughout the day. Use warm water and soap. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand gel.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow. Flu is spread through coughing or sneezing on other people or into your hands. Cover your coughs and sneezes to prevent others from getting sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious foods.
• Keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, and toys for children) clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant.

The CDC has taken a number of steps in response to coronavirus. This has included developing a diagnostic test to detect this virus in clinical specimens and conducting entry screening of passengers on direct and connecting flights from Wuhan, China to five major airports in the United States: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco. Enhanced screening measures are also in place at 20 other airports. Finally, the CDC is now recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China.

Coronaviruses are common in many different species of animals, including camels and bats. Rarely, these coronaviruses can evolve and infect humans and then spread between humans. Recent examples of this include Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Updated information about novel coronavirus is available online at health.ri.gov/ncov.