While fears of the Coronavirus spread across the United States, the Louisiana Department of Health says there are currently no confirmed cases of the virus here in Louisiana.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed five patients in the U.S. have been diagnosed with the virus. All of the patients have recently traveled to China. But Health officials in Louisiana say they are taking precautions to prevent an outbreak.
“The CDC believes the risk to the public at large remains low at this time and the Department continues to monitor all information on Novel Coronavirus and remains ready should there be a need to respond to an outbreak of this illness or any other contagious illness,” Dr. Alex Billioux, assistant secretary for the Office of Public Health said. “We regularly review and test our statewide emergency response plans.”
The Lousiana Health Department says healthcare providers in the state are on the look-out for patients experiencing respiratory symptoms who have recently traveled to China.
“We are learning more about this virus each day, but it currently presents a low risk to the American public,” Dr. Billioux emphasized. “The Louisiana Department of Health is taking appropriate measures to inform health care providers and establish a surveillance and response network ready to snap into action to diagnose, isolate and quarantine as appropriate should this illness come to Louisiana.”
You can read more about the Louisiana Department of Health's response to the Coronavirus here.