The Allen County Department of Health will host a collaborative, cross-sector meeting with community leaders Wednesday to discuss preparedness surrounding the emerging novel coronavirus COVID-19.
Representatives from local businesses, social service agencies, foundations, first responders, schools, government agencies and healthcare among others have been invited to join this Pandemic Advisory Group Meeting at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in the Appleseed Room, 4000 Parnell Avenue, March 4 at 9:30 a.m.
“The Department values input from professionals across the community and is also looking for ways we can effectively leverage resources to ensure each sector can withstand hardships a possible pandemic could create,” said Dr. Deborah McMahan, Allen County Health Commissioner. “Because this is a novel virus and the situation is evolving daily, we need to be prepared for a pandemic in our community.”
The Allen County Department of Health and other healthcare experts will provide a situation update on the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and work with community leaders to establish a framework minimizing the potential negative health, safety and economic impacts of a possible pandemic.
Indiana has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, and no one in the state is suspected of being infected at this time. The virus was first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and has rapidly spread to countries around the world, including the U.S.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some recently identified U.S. cases of infection with the virus reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient with COVID-19. It is possible these could be instances of community spread of COVID-19, which means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown.
Reported illnesses of COVID-19 have ranged from mild symptoms, including fever, cough and shortness of breath, to severe illness and death. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for this virus.
