© 2024 Blue Ridge Public Radio
Blue Ridge Mountains banner background
Your source for information and inspiration in Western North Carolina.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
BPR is hiring an Account Executive in our Business Sponsorship Department. Learn more and apply.

North Carolina Now Has A Coronavirus Task Force

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization gave an official name to the disease caused by the new coronavirus that’s sickened thousands of people in China: COVID-19. Within hours, North Carolina annonced it was pulling together a task force of health officials to help prevent the spread of the virus here — something that so far hasn’t been a problem.

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Credit Centers For Disease Control and Prevention / CDC.gov
Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

“Though currently the risk to North Carolinians is low, we are taking a proactive approach and are prepared for potential scenarios,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday in a statement announcing the creation of the task force.

The task force – led by the state’s chief medical officer and the North Carolina Emergency Management head – will work with local and federal agencies to “keep the public informed and safe,” according to a news release from Cooper’s office.

As of Tuesday, there haven’t been any confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in North Carolina, but Mecklenburg County announced Friday it was monitoring four travelers at “medium risk” of infection for two weeks. They all had recently arrived in the U.S. from China, were screened and sent home for voluntary quarantine after not presenting any symptoms.

There have been 12 confirmed cases in the U.S. as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. None was in the Southeast.

In China, at least 42,000 people have been sickened by the virus and more than 1,000 people have died, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The virus is thought to have initially come from animals in Wuhan, China, but can now be spread from person to person. According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, coronaviruses are typically spread between people via coughing, sneezing and person-to-person contact. People who come in contact with the virus can infect themselves by touching their nose, mouth and eyes without washing their hands.

As of Tuesday, the U.S. State Department was recommending Americans avoid traveling to China.

The state health department also now has a hotline for people with questions about the virus: 866-462-3821.

Copyright 2020 WFAE

Dash joined WFAE as a digital editor for news and engagement in 2019. Before that, he was a reporter for the Savannah Morning News in Georgia and the Gaston Gazette in Gastonia.