In order to ease concerns of faculty and students, a representative from North Oaks Health System discussed the global coronavirus pandemic.

The university hosted two coronavirus discussion sessions on March 4-5 in the Student Union Theatre.

Both sessions were led by Dr. Rob Peltier, chief medical officer of North Oaks Health System.

Dr. John Crain, university president, addressed attendees before the event and expressed his gratitude.

“This is one of those things that you are either scared or don’t know what to do or wondering what to do and are wondering what is going on,” said Crain. “We have a great opportunity to hear from an expert. I think you will find it comforting that there are people out there who know what is going on and have a pretty good idea what to do about it.”   

During the session, Peltier discussed the history of the spread of COVID-19 over the past 90 days. He also presented studies and data regarding those who were diagnosed with the virus in order to educate students and faculty on the symptoms and effects of the virus.

Peltier explained what the most common trends are among those who have been diagnosed.

“Children show symptoms about one week later than adults, and we do not fully understand why that is the case,” shared Peltier. “We also learned that it seems to be a little bit more male predominant. The mortality rate is about 2.9%, which is good news.”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Monday afternoon, there were more than 420 confirmed cases of the coronavirus recorded in the United States in 35 states, including the District of Columbia.

Peltier emphasized that maintaining basic hygiene is the best way to prevent not only this virus, but other diseases as well.

“Wash your hands and get a flu shot,” said Peltier. “We should take the same precautions for this disease as we do for the flu. Hygiene really does make a difference. We do not know for sure, but this virus is probably not airborne.”

For continued updates on the coronavirus pandemic, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at cdc.gov. Updates are being compiled each day at approximately 4 p.m.

North Oaks Health System has also produced several informative videos concerning deatils of the virus on their blog. The videos and additional information may be viewed at northoaks.org/blog.