NEWBURGH – Cornerstone Family Healthcare continues to work with the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department of Health to prepare for any local cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person.
“It’s important for people to know that risk of contracting coronavirus at this time in our community is still considered relatively low,” said Dr. Avi Silber, Cornerstone chief medical officer. “We continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation closely and are doing everything we can to prepare our staff and our patients for any local cases.”
He said community health centers “have always regarded responding to public health challenges and natural emergencies as part of their mission and have confronted public health threats before, such as Ebola, SARS, and H1N1.”
Community health centers are required by the federal government to have response plans in place and ready for implementation in the event of a public health emergency.
“Our planning efforts are ongoing and we are in touch with the Orange County Department of Health on a daily basis to review updated recommendations,” Silber said.
The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first detected in China and is now spreading worldwide. As of Tuesday, March 3, there were two confirmed cases in New York according to the State Department of Health. This virus is not currently spreading widely in the United States, but this is a rapidly evolving situation and the risk assessment will be updated as needed.
