While the infection rate and the death toll continues to mount in China, Windsor Regional Hospital wants patients to know it is prepared should the coronavirus appear in Windsor-Essex.
It said its pandemic response team is watching the events in Wuhan, China closely, and will monitor patients who arrive with flu-like symptoms and a recent travel history to Wuhan, China.
The coronavirus is named after its shape which resembles the corona of a star. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
On Thursday, the World Health Organization declined to declare a global emergency, saying the infection does not yet meet the standard. It will meet again in the days to come to re-assess the situation.
In China, more than 800 people had been sickened by the virus by Friday, and 26 had died. Officials are building a 1,000-bed hospital to treat patients exclusively with coronavirus, similar to a facility constructed in 2003 to deal with the SARS outbreak.
China has also placed 13 cities in the province of Hubei on lockdown in an attempt to contain the virus.
There are two confirmed cases in the U.S. as of Friday, including a woman in Chicago who travelled to Wuhan earlier this month.
The hospital does have an airborne infection isolation room, which is under negative pressure to ensure if a patient shows up at the hospital with a suspected case of the virulent, it will not spread through the facility.
Staff will also wear gloves, gowns, respirators, and face protection while caring for the patient.