Although no cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus have been reported in Missouri, the state’s Department of Health & Senior Services says it is prepared to respond if necessary.

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center director Jane Wernsman said her office and other county health agencies in Missouri are in regular contact with state health officials as the number of coronavirus cases grows worldwide.

“We are as prepared as we need to be as public awareness is heightened,” Wernsman said Tuesday.

DHSS reported this week it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health departments to respond to the outbreak and assure the health and well-being of Missourians as residents return from China where the coronavirus appears to have started.

“We have been working to ensure our state is educated and prepared and is adhering to all of the latest guidance from our federal partners,” DHSS director Randall Williams said in a prepared statement released earlier this week. “As travelers return to Missouri, we have partnered with them and local public health agencies on monitoring efforts to ensure their safety and the safety of their families and communities.”

As of Tuesday, more than 43,000 cases of the novel coronavirus — and just more than 1,100 deaths — had been reported in 28 nations and territories around the world including 13 cases in the United States. None of the U.S. cases have been in Missouri.

The CDC is recommending “self-monitoring with public health supervision” for all travelers returning from mainland China, excluding Hubei Province, who have been screened at one of 11 U.S. airports and found to have no symptoms.

Meanwhile, public health agencies, such as the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, are educating the public about steps they can take to avoid the virus that, according to Wernsman, are similar to flu precautions. Those precautions include frequent hand washing with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, coughing or sneezing into the elbow, avoiding others who have cold- or flu-like symptoms and staying home if you are sick.

According to DHSS, the risk to the general public in Missouri, especially those without a recent history of travel to China, is very low at this time.

“As we learn more about the 2019 novel coronavirus, we find there is good and bad news,” Missouri state epidemiologist George Turabelidze said in a DHSS statement earlier this week. “The good news is that this novel infection does not seem to have as high of a case fatality rate as other coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS. What is discouraging is that this virus is showing the ability to spread as easily as the flu, which means there is a likelihood of many more people becoming infected in the near future.”

To learn more, visit www.health.mo.gov/coronavirus and www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Do you crave business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Check it out at www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.