Officials Seek to Allay Public Fear About Coronavirus
No, you don’t need to stockpile beans and rice, and unless you are actually exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, you can take that mask off. But you do need to wash your hands, and you shouldn’t come to work if you’re sick.
That is the gist of the advice given at a town hall briefing with U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, Dallas County Health and Human Services director Dr. Philip Huang, and UT Southwestern Medical Center infectious disease chief Dr. Trish M. Perl.
State Sen. Nathan Johnson moderated the discussion about the latest on the coronavirus and resources for the public.
Big takeaways: Wash your hands. And keep washing them. Perl said that handwashing with soap and water (or in a pinch, a hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol content) reduces transmission by 50 percent.
“There’s not a lot out there that we can say reduces transmission by 50 percent,” she said.
We were on hand to live-tweet the briefing. The thread from that briefing follows (you can also read it on one page here).
We are at a town hall and briefing at the Dallas County Health and Human Services, where U.S. Rep. Colin Allred is praising the county’s leadership on their response to the coronavirus.
— PrestonHollow People (@phollowpeople) March 6, 2020
After the briefing, Huang and Allred met briefly with the press to answer further questions.
