BETHESDA, Md. — Health officials say there are still no confirmed novel coronavirus cases in our region; just two possible cases in D.C., and a possible case in Virginia. And most recently, tests just came back negative for a patient in Maryland.
Still, Rockville and at least a couple of local schools have canceled planned events for the Lunar New Year. While the virus is not confirmed in our area, however, there's concern about the spread of the virus -- especially among members of the Asian American community.
"For me, scary, you don't know who you were next to, or whoever has it," Bob Phan, a barber at Tran's Barber Shop in Bethesda said.
Phan has already canceled his planned trip back to visit friends in Vietnam for Lunar New Year. "My trip was supposed to be yesterday to Vietnam....I'm not going to do it. I canceled my flight," he said.
The City of Rockville canceled it's Lunar New Year celebration, which had been scheduled for Saturday. The American Chinese School in Montgomery County postponed its gala. So did the Howard County Chinese School.
"I think people are behaving out of an over-abundance of caution, and that may be reasonable," Maryland State Senator Clarence Lam (D-Howard and Baltimore Counties) said. Sen. Lam is both a doctor and a public health expert. "I think there are a lot of members of the Asian American community who do travel back and forth between China and the US during this time of year," he said.
Lam said the total number of cases of coronavirus around the globe right now is far fewer than the number of Americans who die every year from the flu. "My advice to folks is to not panic. I think there is a lot of anxiety and concern amongst the public," he said.
But back at the barbershop, entrepreneur Steve Kantor worries it could get much worse. "It's a black swan event and it's very possible that by Valentine's Day, people may not be coming to this barbershop because of concern, it could happen that quickly," Kantor said.
Dr. Lam said the best preventative measures are the ones we all already know: wash your hands, keep them away from your eyes and mouth, cover your cough, and stay away from people who are sick.
