Practices to prevent the spread of illness are being emphasized as the Novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak continues globally. The upper-respiratory illness has not had any cases in Iowa. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, there were three people tested in Iowa and those all came back negative. Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski shares what Iowans should do to protect themselves and their families, “The best thing that you can do really is make sure that you have your flu shot, because influenza is still a greater risk to you here in Iowa. But otherwise, what I’m about to say is that there’s no sexy way to prevent this. It’s really just those same things that we would tell you in every season, so make sure you’re washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. You know one thing I often stress too is if you are washing your hands take the paper towel to open the door, if it’s air dryers use your sweater, use your coat, whatever to not spread further disease. Also, cover your cough.” She reminds people to avoid touching their faces, as that can make it easier for droplets on your hands to then get into your system.

She says face masks are not recommended for the general public. Pettit-Majewski says a key step to take is to contain illness, “Make sure you stay home when you’re sick. Make sure you keep your kiddos home when they’re sick. Just like we would encourage for any other communicable illness is that you’re not going out into big groups of people because really what we’re seeing is that close contact, within about six feet, is the best course of transmission. So, this is droplet spread, we don’t yet know if it is airborne. So, even within close contacts of about six feet we really want to ensure that if you are not feeling well that you are not going out into large groups of people.”

Symptoms of COVID-19 include coughing, fever, and shortness of breath, all are similar to influenza. Pettit-Majewski says if you do present such symptoms then call your healthcare provider to be seen. She recommends calling ahead of time so they can get further information about any travel history and prevent the spread of illness in waiting rooms.