The information below is obtained from the CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
A link to the CDC is included- “There is an ongoing investigation to determine more about this outbreak. This is a rapidly evolving situation and information will be updated as it becomes available.” Click here for the Latest Updates on this Outbreak (you will be taken to the CDC website).
How it Spreads
Person-to-Person
The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
–Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet)
–Via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
–These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
Spread from contact with infected surfaces or objects
It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
When does spread happen?
–People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest).
–Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this with this new coronavirus, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
How efficiently does the virus spread?
How easily a virus spreads from person-to-person can vary. Some viruses are highly contagious (like measles), while other viruses are less so. Another factor is whether the spread continues over multiple generations of people (if spread is sustained). The virus that causes COVID-19 seems to be spreading easily and sustainably in Hubei province and other parts of China. In the United States, spread from person-to-person has occurred only among a few close contacts and has not spread any further to date.
There is still more to be learned
COVID-19 is an emerging disease and there is more to learn about its transmissibility, severity, and other features and what will happen in the United States. New information will further inform the risk assessment.
Read the latest Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Wuhan, China situation summary.
source: CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Preventionhttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html