Alex Azar, secretary of the United States Health and Human Services Department, announcing a travel ban on foreign nationals who have traveled to China
My work colleague recently traveled to Italy for two weeks on business. Yesterday, he stopped by my office to talk about his trip, and he showed me an email about the coronavirus that he received from the hotel he stayed at. I'm the only person in our company that he showed this email to, and I'm the only Asian employee in our company. Needless to say, I felt rather uncomfortable. I requested he forward the email to me.
Once he'd left, I closed my office door and completely fumigated the room with Lysol. I considered informing HR so they could decide whether to ask him to self-quarantine at home for a couple of weeks.
Here's the email he received from his hotel in Italy.
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Dear
We have recently been informed by hotel management at the XXXXXX Palatino that there has been a confirmed case of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) affecting a couple from China who stayed there the night of Wednesday, January 28. These people were taken to the hospital on January 29. Since that time, the hotel advised the couple’s room has been sealed as a precaution and that the couple did not use any hotel services. The hotel has taken all known steps to stop the spread of the virus and is working closely with local health authorities. Prior to this, there have been no known cases of the Novel Coronavirus in Italy.
As background information on the Coronavirus and to help you protect yourself, below is some information from the U.S. Center for Disease Control:
How Human Coronaviruses (in general) Can be Spread
Human coronaviruses are most commonly spread from an infected person to others through:
- The air by coughing and sneezing
- By close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands
- By touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands
- In rare cases, through fecal contamination
Symptoms of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
- For confirmed 2019-nCoV infections, reported illnesses have ranged from people being mildly sick to people being severely ill. Symptoms can include:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
The CDC believes at this time that symptoms of the 2019-nCoV may appear in as few as 2 or as long as 14 days after exposure. This is based on what has been seen previously as the incubation period of the MERS viruses.
How to Protect Yourself and Others
There are currently no vaccines available to protect yourself against human coronavirus infections however you may be able to reduce your risk of infection by doing the following:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands
If you feel you are sick, seek medical care right away and avoid contact with others.
Your safety is our #1 concern and we feel it is important to keep you informed to the greatest extent possible. We are sorry to have to advise of this situation.
Sincerely,
