LEE COUNTY, FLA. — According to the World Health Organization, there are about 47,000 people worldwide, who have caught the latest coronavirus.
About 500 people in the U.S. are also being monitored for it.
We've all seen the coverage talking about it, but Fox 4 wants to help bust some myths around coronavirus that have made their way to social media.
We spoke with Dr. Stephanie Stovall, the Medical Director of Pediatric Epidemiology and Infection Prevention at Lee Health, to get some answers.
First up, we'll tackle concerns about the virus spreading from packages shipping from or made in china.
"The virus really doesn't live that easily on surfaces outside of a human body and is now transmitting person to person," said Dr. Stovall.
But what if you or someone you know has recently been to Asia?
"The health department actually has that well under control and they actually notify us when we need to know of a patient in our community that may be sick and may need evaluation so that we can handle it appropriately when they come into our hospital," said Dr. Stovall.
Next up: face masks.
Should you invest in some?
If you're healthy, then short answer is no, because you'll likely end up having to readjust it all day, which will hurt you in the long run.
"You actually do more inoculation of your face by adjusting your mask with your hands. So that can actually increase your risk of infection if you're doing that," said Dr. Stovall.
Dr. Stovall adds that Lee County doctors are more concerned with the flu at this point.
The latest numbers from lee health show that there are about 300 cases in the county -- which is almost double what they saw this time last year.
"You're going to decrease your risk if you wash your hands, cover your cough and try to avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes,"said Dr. Stovall.
She is also reminding everyone that it is *not too late to get your flu shot if you haven't already.
