BEAUMONT, Texas — Almost 200 Americans were moved out of China Wednesday morning as world officials try to get a handle on the spread of the coronavirus.
In the last week, two Texas university students were tested for the deadly virus. But the students from Baylor and Texas A&M had negative results.
The risk of the strain surfacing in Southeast Texas is low, but staff at Baptist Hospital say they are prepared and going over protocols should it arise.
Doctor Victor Ho says if a patient were to come into the emergency room with symptoms associated with the coronavirus, a screening would take place immediately.
"Unfortunately, there is no quick magic test like there is for the flu or strep, there isn't any for the coronavirus," Dr. Ho told 12News. "It's a very specific strain so we would have to get a sample and we would send it off the CDC."
The patient would then answer a series of questions:
- Have they traveled to China in the past three weeks
- Do they have respiratory issues
- Are they or have they been running a fever
Medical staff would give them a mask and take them to one of their negative pressure rooms.
"(We would) escort them to one of our negative pressure rooms to protect the public from the spread of the disease," Sarah Morris, the emergency department process improvement coordinator for Baptist Hospital said. "These rooms have a venting system, called a negative pressure system, to prevent the spread of the infection into the hospital or to the public."
Baptist Hospital has three of these negative pressure rooms in its emergency room, with more throughout the hospital.
"There's also have a communication box and window so we can communicate and monitor the patient without entering the room over and over," Morris said.
Tests would determine how long a patient would have to stay inside the room.
Doctor Ho told 12News when it comes to the coronavirus, knowing what it is can prevent a lot of panic. He says education is key. If you haven't been to China or been exposed to somebody who recently traveled there, you are at a very low risk of contracting the coronavirus.
If you're wondering about what the symptom's are for coronavirus, Doctor Ho says "They're very similar to any other upper respiratory infections; cough, congestion, fever, runny nose, malaise."
So far, the coronavirus has killed 170 people.
Yet, it's the flu that doctors are more worried about with more than 8,000 people in the United States having already died from it this flu season, according to the CDC.
CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System tells us they are also prepared to treat the coronavirus, stating in a release:
Out of an abundance of caution, CHRISTUS Health is utilizing the current CDC interim guidelines for screening patients, isolation precaution guidance, and personal protective equipment for patients that may have been exposed to this new virus. We also have reviewed our supplies to make sure we have what we need in the remote chance that we encounter a patient infected with this rare illness. We have always screened visitors to our clinical points of access for international travel, to assess for various evolving infections disease risks, including this one. If a patient meets the current CDC criteria, and is exhibiting symptoms consistent with the virus, we will isolate the patient in a private room and take proper respiratory precautions to safely assess and treat them. We will work closely with local and state health departments in any instance of screening. We will continue to monitor the situation regarding the Coronavirus as it evolves.
