Military readies coronavirus camps across the USA as CDC warns of likely spread

The U.S. military is preparing temporary facilities to house people returning from regions overseas where coronavirus may be present. The facilities will quarantine people until officials are sure they are not returning with the disease. Meanwhile, the CDC says the spread of coronavirus in the USA is "likely."

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Patients in a hospital in China remain under quarantine while the illness spreads.

Highlights

By Marshall Connolly (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
2/13/2020 (7 months ago)

Published in Health

Keywords: Coronavirus, military, camps, COVID-19, CDC

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Coronavirus cases are spreading faster than officials in China and other countries can contain them. Experts warn the disease is likely to spread around the globe in the months ahead. 

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the CEC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said, "At some point, we are very likely to see community spread in the U.S. or in other countries." 

In other words, experts see the disease spreading and are pessimistic about our chances of stopping it. 

The U.S. military is preparing a number of temporary facilities where patients who could possibly be infected may be quarantined. There about one dozen such facilities planned, each with the capacity to house one or two hundred patients only. In Atlanta 200 people are under self-observation with instructions to minimize outdoor activity and to report any signs of illness. 

About 80 percent of the people who become infected with coronavirus suffer mild cold symptoms. The rest may suffer serious complications. About three to five percent require intensive care and may die from the complications. 

At a fatality rate between 3 and 5 percent, more than 300 million people around the globe could perish. That's roughly about the same number of people living in the United States (c. 320 million). 

The overall picture of the situation is that the disease is impossible to contain over the long term. Short term measures to slow its spread will buy time as experts work on a vaccine. But ultimately, the disease will spread around the world and there is little else that can be done. 

At this time, more than 50,000 cases have been reported and more than 1,100 people have died. However, experts fear both figures are under-reported.