New Hanover County emergency officials held a media briefing Friday afternoon to update the community on the coronavirus.
The big question on a lot of people’s minds today: “is COVID-19 already in New Hanover County?” And the answer to that, according to Lisa Brown, Public Health Preparedness Coordinator, is not yet. But it’s just a matter of time.
So based off what we have seen, how this has occurred globally and then how this has occurred nationally. And I've watched this very, very, very closely for, it feels like an eternity, but I think it's actually close to two and a half or three months. I think it's very likely, very likely. [Katelyn Freund: A matter of when, not if?] Yes.
Although it’s likely the coronavirus will affect New Hanover County, Jessica Loeper, Chief Communications Officer, says there's no need to panic.
I think, you know, from our perspective at the County, we want people to be prepared. We want you to be ready in the event that COVID-19 impacts our community or impacts your neighborhood. But we don't want you to panic. We want you to stay calm. We want to make sure that you have your plans in place.
Local universities, including UNCW and CFCC, have already set plans in place for courses to move to an online setting. As of 4:30pm on Friday, Public K-12 schools have not made plans to cancel classes.
For WHQR News, I’m Katelyn Freund