(CNN) Amid a\ncoronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control\nand Prevention is encouraging older people and people with severe chronic\nmedical conditions to “stay at home as much as possible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This advice is on a CDC website that was posted Thursday,\naccording to a CDC spokeswoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early data suggests older people are twice as likely to have\nserious illness from the novel coronavirus, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Trump administration official tells CNN that the US\nDepartment of Health and Human Services “is in the process of doing\ntargeted outreach to the elderly community and those that have serious\nunderlying health conditions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CDC guidance comes as two top infectious disease experts\nwith ties to the federal government have advised people over 60 and those with\nunderlying health problems to strongly consider avoiding activities that\ninvolve large crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University professor and\nlongtime adviser to the CDC, said these two groups should consider avoiding\nactivities such as traveling by airplane, going to movie theaters, attending\nfamily events, shopping at crowded malls, and going to religious services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People in these two groups “should strongly consider\nnot doing these activities at this juncture,” Schaffner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This ought to be top of mind for people over 60, and\nthose with underlying health problems, such as heart or lung disease, diabetes,\nor compromised immune systems,” Schaffner added. “The single most\nimportant thing you can do to avoid the virus is reduce your face to face\ncontact with people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Osterholm, the former state epidemiologist for\nMinnesota, agreed that people over age 60 should take such steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think clearly the time has come to take these\nsteps,” said Osterholm, who has served on committees advising the federal\ngovernment on public health issues and is director of the Center for Infectious\nDisease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both experts, who are over age 60, said they have taken some\nof these steps themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When my wife and I need to go shopping, we’re going\nlate at night when there are no crowds, and we get in and out\nefficiently,” Schaffner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that his wife goes to a bridge club with dozens of\nother people — but not anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She enjoys bridge and it’s an important part of her\nlife and it keeps her mentally active, but she’s going to give it up for a\nwhile,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Osterholm said he has canceled some air travel plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s always been easy to be abstract when you’re a\npublic health person when something’s happening in Africa or Asia or the\nArabian peninsula,” he said. “But now it’s happening here, and we\nhave to internalize this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schaffner and Osterholm said data from China shows that\nelderly people and those with underlying health issues are most at risk of\nbecoming seriously ill and of dying from the novel coronavirus. Younger and\nhealthier people often get only mild to moderate symptoms, or sometimes no\nsymptoms at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schaffner and Osterholm said their advice has some\nflexibility for important events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is not an instruction. This is not an\norder,” Schaffner said. “I’m not asking everyone to stay at home and\nlock the door for a month. I’m saying, be thoughtful every time you contemplate\ngetting together with a crowd or group.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, if a grandparent wants to attend a grandchild’s\nwedding, they could sit off to the side, and bump elbows with relatives instead\nof hugging and kissing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But someone might want to avoid, for example, a regular\nweekend religious service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Don’t go. Be reverent at home,” Schaffner said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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