BUCYRUS — With raising concerns of the spreading of COVID-19 Coronavirus, those at Crawford Public Health want citizens of Crawford County and the surrounding areas to have tips on how to prevent contracting the illness.

According to Crawford Public Health, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness. It can spread from person-to-person, mainly by droplets from coughing and sneezing. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a new virus. The World Health Organization named it. ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D’ for disease.

Chinese authorities identified a cluster of similar cases of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, China on Dec. 29. Wuhan is a city with 11 million inhabitants. These cases were soon determined to be caused by a new coronavirus.

Two outbreaks of new diseases in recent history were also caused by coronaviruses – SARS in 2003 that resulted in around 1000 deaths and MERS in 2012 that resulted in 862 deaths.

The first cases of COVID-19 outside of China were identified Jan. 13 in Thailand and Jan. 16 in Japan. Since then, COVID-19 has spread to many more countries – cases have been reported in all world regions.

A worldwide tracker of the Coronavirus outbreak may be found here.

The risk in the Crawford County area is still considered low.

People should continue to follow standard precautions to help prevent the spread of infection:

  • Wash your hands for 20 seconds or more with soapy water. If unavailable, use hand sanitizer with at least 60-95% alcohol.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid contact with people who are sick.
  • Stay home if you are sick (except to visit a healthcare professional) and avoid close contact with others.
  • Cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
  • Get adequate sleep and eat well-balanced meals to ensure a healthy immune system.

Who is being affected the most by COVID-19?

Reports out of China that looked at more than 70,000 COVID-19 patients found that about 80 percent had mild illness and people recovered and 15-20 percent developed serious illness. Of the 70,000 cases, only about 2 percent were in people younger than 19. Starting at age 60, there is an increasing risk of disease and the risk increases with age. The highest risk of serious illness and death is in people older than 80 years. People with serious underlying health conditions also are more likely to develop serious outcomes. The people who are at greatest risk are those older and who also have serious long-term health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or lung disease.

The virus that causes COVID-19 probably started in animals and spread to people. Now it is spreading from person-to-person. It’s important to note that the chance of person-to-person varies depending on the person and disease. Some diseases are easily spread (like measles), while other diseases are less so.

Health experts are still learning the details about how COVID-19 spreads.

Other coronaviruses spread from an infected person to others through:

  • The air by coughing and sneezing.
  • Close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands.
  • Touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.

The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19.

To lower your risk of catching any respiratory illness, remember to:

  • Wash your hands for 20 seconds or more with soapy water. If unavailable, use hand sanitizer.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid contact with people who are sick.
  • Stay home while you are sick (except to visit a healthcare professional) and avoid close contact with others.
  • Cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
  • Get adequate sleep and eat well-balanced meals to ensure a healthy immune system.

Crawford Public Health’s website has a link on the home page for Coronavirus updates and is also posting information on their Facebook page.

If people have questions and want to speak with someone about concerns regarding COVID-19, they can call a toll-free number supported by the Ohio Department of Health between 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, at 1-833-427-5634. The call center includes nurses and infectious disease experts available to answer questions and provide accurate information about COVID-19, the current risk to the public, and how the state and local health departments are responding.