Coronavirus arrives here; panic does not

It’s here. Now we have to deal with it.

Calmly, rationally. Without panic.

It was inevitable that the novel coronavirus COVID-19, which originated in the Wuhan province in China and then slowly started to spread its tentacles, would arrive on U.S. shores.

Still, reading about an outbreak in China, or Iran, or Italy, doesn’t carry the same kind of gut punch as Friday’s announcement that a presumptive case of the virus had been diagnosed in Delaware County.

The situation heightened over the weekend with reports of two presumptive cases in Montgomery County, then two more in Montco on Sunday. That brings the total number in Pennsylvania to six. There also is a case being tracked in Wayne County.

Coronavirus has already altered our lives. People have started avoiding public gatherings. In some cases they are refraining from going out to eat. Normal greetings — including handshakes — are being dropped. Churches are altering the rites of worship, including changes to the “Sign of Peace” and cautions for those offering

communion, while stopping the practice of sharing a communal chalice.

In Montgomery County, Germantown Academy is shutting its doors through Wednesday because a student is related to one of the presumed cases of coronavirus.

Throughout the region, schools are amping up their cleaning and disinfecting efforts, but by Monday, no other schools were closed. Delaware County is limiting visitors to Fair Acres, the county nursing home.

County leaders and emergency management officials were huddling with both school officials and municipal leaders to share plans and updates. In Montgomery County, a Declaration of Disaster Emergency was signed to allow procedures to take place with less red tape.

One of the most valuable commodities in this kind of medical event — aside from hand sanitizer — is information.

To that end, we credit county government leaders. In both Delaware and Montgomery counties, they have held public briefings through the weekend in an effort to update the public, provide solid information, and offer reassurance to remain calm, not an easy thing to do in these jittery days. Montgomery and Berks counties announced the launch of websites specific to local news about the virus.

Delaware County differs from Montgomery County in that there is no Office of Public Health. The coronavirus case reported in Delco renewed debate about a county health department — as well as an online furor as conjecture and rumors spread as to where the woman who tests positive lived.

County officials said that because the county does not have its own health department, they were limited in what they could reveal. They were acting under the guidance of the state Health Department, which holds that authority under the auspices of the Disease Control and Prevention Act.

In contrast, Montgomery County Office of Public Health officials revealed the locations of cases as individuals in Worcester, Lower Gwynedd and Lower Merion.

Two state senators, Sen. Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown, and Sen. Tim Kearney, D-26 of Swarthmore, fired off a letter to state Health Secretary Rachel Levine urging her to release the town where the Delaware County victim lives.

County Councilwoman Monica Taylor, at Saturday’s update, went so far as to warn people against the plethora of misinformation online as to where the person resides.

Officials are rightly stressing caution and taking the proper steps. Those include reminders to people about frequent handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; not touching your face, eyes, nose or mouth; covering your mouth when you cough and sneezing into your elbow; avoiding close contract with people who are sick; staying home if you are not feeling well.

The toll from the coronavirus outbreak has now topped more than 105,000 people infected worldwide. Although the vast majority will recover, the death toll has now gone over 3,500. In the United States, more than 500 cases of coronavirus have been reported in 33 states. The virus has killed 19 people in the U.S.

It’s likely that more cases will be reported, including here in our region.

This is not the time to panic. Instead it’s time to calmly reason and use good common sense. Perhaps the most important protection we have is information.

So far officials in our counties have done a good job of providing that.