Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chair Val Arkoosh is a trained physician. She says the risk in the county remains low, because there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, in Pennsylvania.
She says people should take the same steps they take to avoid the flu virus: Wash your hands often, cough or sneeze into your elbow, and stay home if you're sick.
"This is one of the important things," she said. "If you're not feeling well, please stay home. That's just a good public health practice at all times, but perhaps a little more important right now."
She notes that's a challenge for anyone who doesn't have paid sick leave and says situations like this show it's not a luxury but a public health issue.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever and shortness of breath.
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Arkoosh says data is still being gathered, so there are no clear-cut guidelines, but she says so far it appears about 80% of people who contract the virus will have minor symptoms or maybe not even realize they have it. Symptoms for about 10% will be moderate, while around 5% will have significant complications.
She says there is no reason to panic. She compares preparation for the virus it to stocking up when there’s a storm in the forecast.
"To put plans in place for you and your family," she said. "That would mean that you don’t have to leave the house necessarily every single day as you might in your normal daily life, and those would be just commonsense precautions you could take."
For example making sure you have extra prescription medicine on hand.
Arkoosh advised against buying masks, saying they would likely do very little to prevent someone from contracting the virus, because it's usually transmitted by touching an infected surface and then touching your face.
She says the most important thing right now is to get information from reliable sources. The most reliable right now, she says, is CDC.gov.
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