U.S. health officials have urged schools, businesses and hospitals to begin preparing for a likely surge of new coronavirus cases with no direct link to China, an alarming scenario that’s unfolding across an increasing number of countries in recent days.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday that 53 patients are being treated for the pneumonia-like infection in the U.S., though 39 of them are repatriated U.S. citizens and residents who were brought from China and Japan this month.
The mysterious disease, known as COVID-19, has spread to more than three dozen countries since it was discovered in central China’s Hubei province in late December, with Europe and the Middle East battling a sudden increase of infected patients this week.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warned Tuesday that it’s no longer a question of whether the U.S. will see community spread of the virus. The question now is when that will happen and how many people will experience severe symptoms.
Messonnier said people must start thinking about the possibility of working from home and parents should contact their schools to ask about plans for dismissal or even alternative child care should the virus affect their communities.
The respiratory illness, which causes mild symptoms to most patients, has infected more than 80,000 people and killed about 2,700 others, with the vast majority of cases and deaths occurring in mainland China.
In Iran, which had no confirmed cases early last week, has since had 95 patients and 15 deaths. At least five neighboring countries have reported their first cases in recent days, with most of them linked to Iran.
In Europe, meanwhile, authorities in Italy are scrambling to slow down a recent outbreak of coronavirus cases by shutting down major tourist sites and canceling soccer games. As of Tuesday, the country has seen nearly 300 cases and and seven deaths — way more than any other European country.
But the World Health Organization insists the outbreak is not yet a pandemic because the world is not witnessing an “uncontained global spread” of the virus or a “large-scale severe disease or death.”
“Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely, it has. Are we there yet? From our assessment, not yet,” the agency’s director-general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, told reporters at a news conference Monday.