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Nebraska nurse overseeing quarantine of US coronavirus patients says they are 'doing very well'
By Yael Halon
Published February 25, 2020
Fox News medical correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel caught up with Nebraska Medicine Executive Director of Emergency Management and Biopreparedness Shelly Schwedhelm Tuesday night in Omaha, where she oversees the department tasked with monitoring Americans infected with coronavirus.
Schwedhelm told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that the patients are all in "stable" condition and are "doing very well."
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"We're doing our best to get them whatever they need to be comfortable, and working through all the issues that they have ... with lost luggage and other things," she added.
The U.S. currently has 15 confirmed cases of the virus, either in people who have traveled to China or been in close contact with someone who has. An additional 39 Americans were infected with the virus while onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, but last week the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said those cases would be counted separately from the national tally.
As Schwedhelm and her unit prepared to receive the 15th American infected with the virus late Tuesday, the nurse said she is confident the patients will make a full recovery, and praised U.S. health officials for their efforts to contain the highly contagious virus.
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"I think the U.S. has done a nice job in working through preparedness in the last year ... but [there's a] long ways to go," she told Siegel.
Earlier Tuesday, the CDC warned that it expects the virus to begin spreading in the U.S. at the community level, and that “disruption to everyday life may be severe.”
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Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a press briefing that Americans should begin preparing now for a potential outbreak, although officials believe the immediate threat to the public remains low.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/coronavirus-nebraska-medicine-marc-siegel-shelly-schwedhelm