Dr. Mike: What you really need to know about coronavirus
PHILADELPHIA - Dr. Mike Cirigliano joined Good Day Weekend to calm fears about the widespread coronavirus a day after two Pennsylvania residents and another New Jersey man tested positive for the illness.
Echoing the sentiments made by health professionals across the country, Dr. Mike says citizens should not fear COVID-19 as long as they are taking the proper precautions outlined by the CDC.
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"What the Center for Disease Control is saying is that it's not time to build a bunker, it's not survival mode," Dr. Mike said. "What you need to do is be cautious, especially if you're a higher risk person."
Dr. Mike says that pandemics, such as the coronavirus, are normal occurrences that happen on the planet. Health professionals advise that regular hand washing habits and the use of hand sanitizer should be enough to ward off the virus.
Other recommendations offered by Dr. Mike include avoiding large crowds, no handshakes or hugging, keeping a social distance and have home supplies and medication.
Dr. Mike suggests any person who feels he or she has symptoms of COVID-19 should contact their primary health provider by telephone instead of traveling directly to the doctors office.
"We have a protocol," Dr. Mike. "We're going to see if you traveled, we're going to see if you have any kinds of symptoms or if you're one of those high-risk persons."
Patients that are suspected positive for the coronavirus will be given a mask and quarantined as a precaution to themselves and the general public. State health officials will then be contacted in order for the patient to receive the necessary medical treatment.
Healthy people should be advised that according to medical professionals the risk of contracting COVID-19 remains low. Dr. Mike says there is no need to take extreme preventative measures such as wearing a surgical mask.
Dr. Mike says the act of donning a mask may work conversely because persons need to touch their face in order to wear and adjust the mask.
"If you don't have symptoms, forget about it," Dr. Mike said. "What you're going to do is touch your face, touch your eyes and you're going to get something."
Dr. Mike and CDC officials say the best defense against the coronavirus for asymptomatic people is simply to practice good hygiene and social distancing.
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