Around the world, the cases of Coronavirus have reached nearly 60,000 and with another case in the US reported, the total number of domestic cases has now reached 15. The question that has risen is if the cases of the virus surge, will the country’s health system be able to handle it?
Jonathan Greene, director of emergency management and medical operations at the Department of Health and Human Services, has said that they think a lot about and prepare for the surge capacity in the health care system in the U.S., not only in terms of coronavirus but for whole lot of diseases and events that could occur.
Greene mentioned that the likelihood of the average American coming down with the virus is extremely low, if the person has not traveled to China or come into close contact with someone who has. The public health officials have been repeatedly spreading awareness on the corona virus updates so that there are no signs of community transmission. Still to be a step forward, the federal agency is working to be able to treat thousands of patients if needed in the future.
Though Greene expresses no concerns, there are other experts who are skeptical about the U.S. capacity to handle a severe epidemic with a sudden surge of thousands of infections. Bioterrorism and biosafety expert Dr. Tara O’Toole has said that no one is ready for a worst case scenario in the US. He does not know how things will be tackled if this really bad, lethal, fast-moving pandemic spreads.
He worked as an undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security and now works at In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit strategic investment firm that supports U.S. national security.