TOLEDO, Ohio — As cases of coronavirus rise in the United States, people are asking more questions. With that in mind, a panel of local medical experts addressed the public on the spread of the virus at the University of Toledo Wednesday.
Officials stressed the fact that the risk in Toledo and Ohio is low. People can lower their risk of contracting the virus with simple preventative measures like washing your hands well and practicing good cough etiquette.
The speakers touched on everything from symptoms similar to the flu — cough, fever, shortness of breath — to advice on travel and prevention tips.
"The thing that is different about this particular coronavirus compared to the regular coronaviruses that circulate all the time and give us colds is that this one is causing pneumonia," UT physician chief of infectious diseases Dr. Jennifer Hanrahan said.
Currently, there are no confirmed cases in Ohio, or neighboring states, so officials say the risks are extremely low here right now.
But, Dr. Jason Huntley pointed out that new illnesses are unpredictable. He explained that the process to create a viable vaccine will take up to a year.
"The process is making sure it's safe for everyone," he said, "making sure it actually works in a wide population and it induces the immune response as you want it to and there's no adverse effects."
Susan Rice is a professor at the university, but also volunteers in the community. She said she came to learn about the coronavirus herself and believes more places and cities should have events to educate the public.
"If we give accurate information to people then it's going to calm things down," she said, "and people react and do the right thing."
Hanrahan stressed that with this crisis, whether it's being around others or making a decision to stay home from work or school, you have to consider other people's health as much as your own.
"People feel really guilty about not going to work," she said. "You should feel more guilty about making more people sick."
Meanwhile, several local superintendents met with the Wood and Lucas County health departments Wednesday to discuss the virus.
Anthony Wayne Local Schools superintendent Jim Fritz put together the meeting with the goal of opening up lines of communication between the districts and health officials now.
Health officials warn the flu is more dangerous right now, but since we do not have immunity to the coronavirus, schools need to take it seriously.
School leaders said if a case were to appear here, it could close schools. But, they urge people not to be scared, just be prepared.
"As we go through our checklist of what we need to do to prepare, this is one of the steps," Fritz said, "and talking to the health departments in our local communities to make sure that we are on the same page."
Officials say the best defense right now is prevention.
"Are we taking the proper precautions in our day to day life," Wood County health department commissioner Ben Batey said, "Are we looking at those things of proper hand washing or social distancing if I'm sick or staying home if I'm sick?"
While there aren't any cases now, Lucas County Health Department commisssioner Eric Zgodzinski said it's likely we will eventually see a case here.
"Do you put it to the side of 'is this going to happen?'" he said, "It's going to happen. So again, let's just be prepared in case it does happen here."
Health departments suggest all the districts create an emergency plan now so they can be prepared for possible situations later this year.