Coronavirus: Complete coverage on its impact and New Jersey's response

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Read our complete coverage of coronavirus, including how local institutions are preparing and how it has already affected New Jersey.

“It's not a question of ‘if’ anymore, but 'when,' ” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a press briefing on Feb. 25. “We expect to see community spread in the United States.”  

© Mitsu Yasukawa/ Northjersey.com Nurse Viviana Castano, RN, pulls elastics as she tries to wear a mask during the Covid 19 Training with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the hospital's simulation center at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck on 02/24/20.

The coronavirus basics

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So what is coronavirus anyway?

Quarantines, vaccination campaigns, airport screening and health-care worker training — may soon become part of the response to a potential epidemic on American soil of the new coronavirus from China, known as COVID-19. Lessons learned from previous epidemics will guide the response.

How hospitals are preparing

Gown, gloves, goggles, mask — deposit in biohazard container and wash hands for 20 seconds. It’s a drill that’s becoming muscle memory for health care workers these days as hospitals and medical facilities prepare for the anticipated spread of the new coronavirus from China.

New Jersey’s state public health lab now can conduct tests to determine if someone is infected. And one of the state’s largest health systems — Hackensack Meridian Health — said on Feb. 28 it was close to having a rapid screening test for the virus that can be used in emergency rooms and urgent care clinics. 

Public spaces

If the virus hits New Jersey, how would public places, including churches, restaurants, schools, theaters and public transportation, be affected? The institutions that operate these public spaces are responding to the coronavirus threat in various ways.

Talking to kids about the virus

© Merlin The coronavirus has not yet reached pandemic levels, health official says

Be careful what you say around children — they hear everything. Lately, much of what they are overhearing is about coronavirus. The talk has been alarming and scary. So, how should parents and educators talk about the issue with children?

Schools and colleges

As February began, New Jersey colleges were on high alert as coronavirus deteriorated into a public health emergency, halting study abroad travel to China, canceling short-term programs and monitoring Chinese students and faculty on New Jersey campuses.

And on Feb. 28, Seton Hall University said it was canceling all spring study abroad trips because of the coronavirus outbreak.

At the airport

© Reale, Krista 2019 Novel Coronavirus travel alert from New Jersey Department of Health, Jan. 28, 2020.

The union that represents more than 10,000 workers at Newark, Kennedy and La Guardia airports says its members have not been properly trained and outfitted to reduce the risk of transmission. "You have cabin cleaners who come into contact with blood, vomit, mucus, feces, all types of bodily fluids, and they have no more training today than they did before the outbreak," one union official said.

On Jan. 17, the U.S. said that passengers arriving in the United States from a Chinese city where an emerging virus outbreak has caused worldwide concern among health officials will be screened at three U.S. airports, including JFK. 

© Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com Travelers check in for a flight at Newark airport.

In late January, the U.S. expanded its screening of arriving passengers from China to 20 airports — including Newark Liberty International — to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In early February, the U.S. said that passengers arriving from China were being funneled to 11 U.S. airports — including Newark and JFK — where some will face mandatory 14-day quarantine in an unprecedented step to slow the spread of the virus

Cruise ships

© Tariq Zehawi One of the four passengers of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in Bayonne were sent to the hospital after a coronavirus screening tested positive for the flu.

Passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked in Bayonne due to concerns over the novel coronavirus had their fears put to rest Feb. 8. Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted that four passengers sent to the hospital tested negative for coronavirus.

The coronavirus outbreak could prove damaging to the global cruise ship industry if not contained within a month, experts said, putting a business that serves millions of people worldwide in unprecedented turbulence. 

Cases in New Jersey?

Since the outbreak in China first began, there have been no confirmed coronavirus cases in New Jersey, although there is one patient currently suspected of having COVID-19 at Bayshore Medical Center in Monmouth County.

That patient was in isolation and being evaluated as of Feb. 29.

There have also been a few false alarms. Why?

On Jan. 25, the state said a patient who was evaluated at Hackensack University Medical Center Jan. 24 turned out not to have coronavirus.

On Jan. 27, state officials said a New Jersey patient was among 110 nationwide to be tested for the new type of virus that has spread across China and to 16 countries to that point.

The person in New Jersey who was being tested for the virus that caused a widespread outbreak in China does not have it, the New Jersey Department of Health announced Jan. 28. 

Past pandemics, outbreaks    

© TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The Camp Merritt Tower in Cresskill honors victims of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic

In 1918 at Camp Merritt in North Jersey, 578 people, including 557 enlisted men, died, victims of the influenza pandemic that infected 500 million people worldwide, and killed up to 100 million people before it ended in 1920. 

If you're a worrier, you may have pondered the global outbreak of a scary disease. Ebola, perhaps, or SARS, or MERS. But when the sequel to the great 1918 Spanish flu pandemic happens — and it will —  it could be our old friend, the flu.

A nurse forced into quarantine in New Jersey in 2014 on her way home from treating Ebola patients in Africa has settled her case against Gov. Chris Christie several years later.  

Public health officials from New Jersey joined colleagues from across the nation in 2016 for a “Zika Summit” in Atlanta to plan strategies for protecting pregnant women from the mosquito-borne virus, which can cause catastrophic birth defects.

In January of 2020, a second New Jersey child died from flu complications this flu season as the state is reporting high levels of flu activity in all counties.  During the 2018-2019 flu season, there were six confirmed children deaths in New Jersey.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Coronavirus: Complete coverage on its impact and New Jersey's response