JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — UF Health Jacksonville and other local hospitals are preparing for the potential outbreak of the new coronavirus, known as COVID-19.
Chad Nielsen, director of accreditation in infection control, showed us one of UF Health’s isolation rooms.
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“This room has a negative air isolation, which means all of the air in the room is not recycled through the hospital, it’s sucked out through external vents and filters,” Nielsen said.
There are indicators on top of the doors, letting health care professionals know if the room’s negative air is activated.
There are no COVID-19 cases at UF Health nor has anyone showed signs that would warrant a test, but that doesn’t mean they’re letting their guard down.
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“We’re probably having two to three meetings per week just here on this campus, talking about our readiness for COVID-19,” Nielsen said.
And it’s not just UF Health but hospitals all over the country that are paying close attention to the virus which continues to spread across the globe.
Nielsen said they’re ready.
“If we see a large influx of patients, we are confident our plans allow us to be flexible to handle that, as well,” Nielsen said.
So what can you do?
Nielsen said continue practicing good hand-washing techniques, don’t cough or sneeze into your hand, and if you’re feeling sick, stay home.
The CDC’s website has this information on properly covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing:
To help stop the spread of germs:
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- Put your used tissue in a waste basket.
- If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
Remember to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing:
- Wash with soap and water, or
- Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water. If clean, running water is not accessible, as is common in many parts of the world, use soap and available water. If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to clean hands.
According to Nielsen, most people are rushing to buy face masks that won’t protect them.
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“It has to do with the size of the molecules and the size of the virus; it’s too small for these to adequately stop,” Nielsen said.
The state surgeon general hopes to have lab testing in Florida soon. Jacksonville is one of three cities where COVID-19 samples could be tested.
Florida actually received some test kits but there was a problem with those kits, so they were pulled. They’re in the process of being reissued.
According to Nielsen, there’s no need to worry about COVID-19 samples being tested in Jacksonville.
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“It’s very safe and there’s a lot of structure in place to ensure that the virus isn’t going to move from the hospital to the lab to the general public,” Nielsen said.
In the meantime, since Florida doesn’t have any test kits available. If a suspected case is identified it must be tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
UF Health would need to alert the Duval County Department of Health, which in turn would send the sample to the CDC.
“The Department of Health here in town is pushing the CDC, as well as other states, to get tests locally to cut down that time in testing to completion and ruling out the patient,” Nielsen said.
President Trump spoke Wednesday in joint conference with the CDC on the new coronavirus.
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