LACMA President Sion Roy, MD Elaborates on COVID-19 March 5, 2020 Coronavirus, COVID-19, Public Health, Sion Roy, Virus 1689 March 4, 2020 LACMA Members, As you may know, LACMA has been sharing updates on Novel Coronavirus 2019 or COVID-19 through various channels. I’d like to share important information with our members, as well as resources to help them prevent the spread of the illness and keep patients, providers and communities safe. First, CMA has created a COVID-19 Resource Page with highly valuable information at https://www.cmadocs.org/covid-19. There are now more than 50 patients in California with the virus, with six new cases announced in Los Angeles County alone. One individual from Placer County became the first Californian to die of the illness, health officials announced Wednesday. Even though the health risk from COVID-19 to the general public in Los Angeles County may seem low, the County has still issued a state of emergency and the LACMA team is working closely with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health regarding updates for medical providers. Dr. Muntu Davis, Public Health Officer with the City of Los Angeles (and LACMA board member) has this to say: For health care professionals, it is recommended that you: Ask all patients reporting to your facility about recent travel Follow standard environmental infection control procedures for healthcare settings Post signs that ask patients to and ensure supplies are available for them to follow standard hygiene practices, such as: Washing hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not on available Covering the nose and mouth with an elbow or a tissue when coughing or sneezing Avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth with unclean hands Limiting close contact — like kissing or sharing cups or utensils — with people who are sick Stay away from others when you are sick Practicing good public health hygiene is still important. People should not be excluded from activities based on race, country of origin or recent travel if they do not have symptoms of respiratory illness. In fact, Los Angeles residents and visitors should continue to engage in regular activities and practice good public health hygiene as this is also the height of flu season across the county. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidelines for the diagnosis and care of COVID-19 patients, and they have asked health care systems and the nation to prepare for the possibility of this virus spreading in the community. For the most up-to-date information about COVID-19, please consider visiting the following sources directly: CMA COVID-19 Resource Pagehttps://www.cmadocs.org/covid-19 Centers for Disease Control https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html Los Angeles County Department of Public Health http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/message.htm California Department of Public Health https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx Occupational Safety and Health Administration https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/medicalinformation.html Kaiser Permanente https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/alerts/p1/2019-novel-coronavirus-feb-2020 If you have any questions, let me know at: sionroy2002@gmail.com or contact gustavo@lacmanet.org and 760-685-2823. Sion Roy, MD President LACMA