Emergency management leaders share ways you can prepare for possible coronavirus outbreak in NC

© Provided by WXII 12 Greensboro-Winston-Salem Emergency Management leaders urge public to take action ahead of possible coronavirus outbreak

Forsyth County Emergency Management leaders are urging families and businesses to take precautions in the event of an outbreak of the coronavirus in the Triad.

Forsyth County Emergency Management Director August Vernon says local emergency management agencies across the state have been communicating with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, as well as local hospital systems and school districts statewide, about the coronavirus on a regular basis for the last several weeks. He says right now, the discussions center around what local governments, public health agencies and school districts would do in the event of an outbreak. However, he says no resources have been mobilized at this point.

Vernon is asking families, businesses and government agencies to take some steps in the event there is a local outbreak. He says families and organizations should have disaster preparedness kits with them, filled with at least three to five days’ worth of supplies. He says those kits should include food, water, medications and items to care for small children and the elderly.

In addition, Vernon says businesses and other organizations should have contingency plans in place to stay open in the event that 5%-10% of their staff is too sick to work.

However, Vernon says these safety measures should be implemented at all times and not just because there is a possibility of someone contracting the coronavirus in North Carolina in the coming months.

“Now is the time to prepare and not if people start becoming sick around you. And that’s the same message we use every year for flu season. Don’t wait until it’s happening. That’s not the time to decide what you’re going to do, so now is the time to prepare,” said Vernon.

Vernon urges people to get the latest information on the coronavirus by visiting the Forsyth County Department of Public Health’s website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, and the Forsyth County Emergency Management website.

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