Activity 4 Discussing and Commenting 1. The Chinese city Wuhan is the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak. What is the source of the infection? What should the public, health care professionals and health officials do respectively when confronted with such a public health emergency? 2. Why should Americans be more concerned about the flu epidemic rather than the new potentially deadly coronavirus? 3. What lessons can people learn from t he public health emergency caused by the new coronavirus epidemic in the Chinese city Wuhan in early 2020? Post-class Session Activity 5 Reading Comprehension Read the passage and complete each statement with a proper phrase or sentence given in the box. Intensified Effort to Contain the Coronavirus Outbreak This morning another American is diagnosed with potentially deadly coronavirus. The patient in Southern California is the third to be diagnosed with the new pneumonia-like virus in the US. The Centers for Disease & Prevention confirms they’ve been to the Chinese city Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and tested positive for the virus overnight. The patients in isolation are said to be in a good condition, but officials warn more people would likely become infected. As the outbreak escalates yet again there are now 15 countries and territories worldwide with cases. This morning, Chinese health officials say more than 2,000 are now infected and 56 have died. More Chinese health commissioners are now warning the source of infection is still unknown. The harmfulness of the coronavirus to people of different ages is now changing. And most worryingly are indications that the virus is becoming increasingly contagious. Over 1300 more medics have been flown to the epicenter Wuhan, where officials are scrambling to build three new emergency hospitals in a matter of days. These exclusive images filmed for ABC News from the inside city show a ghost town, with signs warning people to wear masks. Fluttering in the wind, some shoppers take the risk to stock up on desperately needed supplies. The images we are seeing in China are very alarming. Obviously they work through this type of response to an outbreak like this. That’s really important because we are talking about basic infection control and how disease detective is still with epidemic. It starts with surveillance and that truly tracks down the geographic spread and the time spread which can tell us about this incubation period. Then you move on to controlling the virus, the source which sometimes will include isolation or quarantine. And education is really important not just for the public, but for the health care professionals and public health officials dealing with us. Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical editor spent some time just yesterday in the New York City hospital. What she learned there is they are completely prepared as is every other hospital in the country. They practiced drills. They go through this on a regular basis, not just for something like coronavirus, but for any pathogen or infectious disease. It could give some perspectives on this: People are taking in this information because we are talking about what’s happening in China and here in the US. But thousands of people die in the US from the flu. That is a key perspective, and so is with the history. Again it’s evolving; it’s dynamic; we are learning as we go. The CDC’s flu estimate was just out yesterday: an estimated 15 million flu cases, and 8200 deaths. So people should be more concerned right now with the flu in this country.