What to Know
- Board of Supervisors will be joined by medical, business and education leaders at the press conference.
- Two confirmed cases of COVID-19 were successfully treated in San Diego last month.
- Press conference will begin at noon Thursday.
The San Diego Board of Supervisors hosted a press conference Thursday afternoon to discuss how the county will prepare for a coronavirus outbreak scenario amid growing concerns about the illness.
Joined by medical, education and business leaders, the Board updated the public on efforts made to prepare for a possible outbreak in the county.
With 75 countries and territories affected by the novel coronavirus, officials said it is preparing the county for the worse as a precaution.
"We feel that it is only a matter of time before we see cases in San Diego," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer.
The sectors that the Board and medical officials are focusing on include businesses, health care and assisted living facilities. The homeless community and non-profit and faith-based organizations that serve the homeless population are also being engaged, Wooten said.
As a preventative measure, authorities urge residents to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds and to stay home at the first sign of illness.
Anyone who has questions on coronavirus is encouraged to call 211 San Diego, a source that provides residents community, health, social and disaster services.
Two confirmed cases of COVID-19 were treated in San Diego County last month after a group of American evacuees from Wuhan, China boarded government-chartered planes and landed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Feb. 5 and Feb. 7. The two patients who contracted the illness were isolated for 14 days while the other evacuees were placed under quarantine at the station.
COVID-19
More on coronavirus in San Diego
Both patients have since been released after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined they had fully recovered from the virus.
As of Thursday, there were 53 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the Golden State. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday after the first death related to the novel coronavirus was confirmed. That patient was identified as a 71-year-old man with underlying health conditions who died in a Sacramento-area hospital.
Already residents are preparing for an emergency as items in stores like hand sanitizer, toilet paper and water bottles fly off the shelves. Health officials urge everyone to thoroughly wash their hands to keep healthy and prevent any disease from spreading.
The press conference is scheduled to begin at noon from the San Diego County Operations Center.
