78 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Tennessee – NewsChannel5.com

What is COVID-19 (a.k.a. the new coronavirus?)

According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. Examples include the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. COVID-19 stands for "Coronavirus disease 2019," which is when this strain of the coronavirus was discovered.

What are the symptoms?

The CDC says patients confirmed to have the 2019-nCoV reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with:

Prevention

The CDC is recommending "common sense" measures such as:

Governor Bill Lee's guidance for mass gatherings, schools, state employees and the state capitol building to prevent the virus' spread:

Mass Gatherings

The CDC recommends gatherings of 10 people or more in the U.S. be canceled or postponed over the next eight weeks. The CDC added this advisory does not apply to placed of business and schools.

Schools

Tennessee schools are urged to close as soon as practically possible, with all schools expected to close by March 20. Schools should remain closed through March 31 to further mitigate the spread of the infectious disease.

State Employees, Business Travel

Effective immediately, state employees who have been trained and certified to work from home within the states Alternative Workplace Solutions (AWS) program will work from home through March 31, 2020. Approximately 11,000 state employees are certified AWS employees and can begin work from home with no disruption to state business.

Effective immediately, state employees have been instructed to cease all non-essential business travel through March 31, 2020.

Tennessee State Capitol Closed to Visitors

The Tennessee State Capitol is closed to tours and visitors through March 31, 2020. Members of the media will continue to have access to the State Capitol building.

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78 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Tennessee - NewsChannel5.com