CDC urges preparation for community spread of COVID-19

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans to take steps to prepare for community transmission of COVID-19. CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, said it’s a question of when, not if, the virus will spread. “While the immediate risk to individual members of the American public remains low, there is now community transmission in a number of countries, including outside of Asia, which is deeply concerning,” said Alex Azar, who heads the Department of Health and Human Services. At a Feb. 26 press conference on what the nation is doing to prepare for COVID-19, President Trump reminded Americans the novel coronavirus is responsible for no American deaths to date unlike influenza, which kills thousands of Americans each year. The president, who requested $2.5 billion in emergency COVID-19 funding this week, said he would welcome the additional funding some in Congress have proposed. The American Hospital Association (AHA) has hosted member-only COVID-19 webinars, which are archived online. Additional resources are available on the AHA COVID-19 webpage.