Coronavirus hits Florida: What's next?

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – With the coronavirus now hitting close to home, North Central Florida leaders are on high alert.

© Provided by Gainesville WCJB-TV

Along with several local school district leaders, the VA Medical System and City of Gainesville officials have sent out recent advisories with prevention and exposure measures. One important measure the CDC suggests is one you may not expect: If you are feeling flu-like symptoms, contact Alachua County Health Department before traveling to any hospital or care center. This step is suggested to avoid any possible spreading in the area.

Extra precautions are possible for local businesses too, Alachua County Communications and Legislative Affairs Director, Mark Sexton says:

"We are all thinking now about if it comes to Alachua County. We are thinking about things like work from home, limiting contact with the public. That's going to be a very important part of this if these cases keep turning up in Florida. You want to avoid contact as much as possible ... so one question that I'm working on with my staff is: can you work at home? Can you do what needs to be done for the next couple of weeks without coming in contact?"

As far as local treatment goes, UF Health leaders say while coronavirus is a serious threat, their preparations are also not much different than what they're used to.

"At UF Health, we are well equipped and we have tremendous experience in dealing with patients that can be severely ill ... so the sorts of precautions that our healthcare workers need to take are the same as would be required for many other infectious diseases," says Nicole Lovine Epidemiologist in Chief at UF Health.

Stay up to date with all coronavirus news on WCJB.com.