Nashville Mayor Cooper and local medical experts held a press conference Friday to give an update on coronavirus (COVID-19).
The message in Friday’s press coronavirus was to take this issue seriously but to be prudent.
The concept of social distancing was emphasized in Friday’s press conference as a primary way to diminish the spread of the virus. In addition to dampening the outbreak, social distancing is important so there’s not a huge surge of medical need, Dr. William Schaffner said.
Mayor Cooper has also established a Metro Nashville Coronavirus Task Force that includes clinicians, epidemiologists, educators nad more from Nashville and beyond.
As of the writing of this article, there are 26 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tennessee. The case number is expected to increase as testing increases.
Tennessee Department of Health and two private labs are currently doing tests, although, more private labs may be coming online soon to offer testing. The Coronavirus Task Force is currently working through these options.
Local medical leaders continue to stress the following measures:
- Wash hands for 20 seconds
- Avoid touching your face
- Cough/Sneeze into a tissue and then throw it away or into the crux of your elbow
- Clean/disinfect surfaces often
- No handshaking or hugs
- Social distancing (which means to avoid large groups to reduce the risk of transmission)
