Coronavirus has been a subject of national concern since late 2019. The virus, also called COVID-19, first surfaced in Wuhan, China. It then spread to the U.S, where there are currently sixteen confirmed cases. One is Madison.
The CDC is urging people to consider their travel plans. Sean and Chris, are visiting the U.S. from Australia.
“It’s probably just as risky in Australia as it is here. I just spent the week at Pax East in Boston where there’s a hundred thousand people from all over the world, so, I mean if I didn’t change that plan, I don’t know what plan I’m gonna change,” says Chris.
Fred, though, is tentative to reconsider his travel plans.
“The big thing that I’m concerned about is that my girlfriend and I are booked to go to Italy in May and we don’t know what’s gonna happen with that,” Fred says.
The coronavirus has been known to cause severe illness in some people, while for others it feels like a mild cold.
Those most likely to be severely affected are children, the elderly, or people with underlying medical conditions. Some, like Sean, are concerned for their family’s safety.
“My father will be turning ninety-one in the middle of this month and he’s just getting over [something]. He seems to be getting better, but I asked if they did a test for coronavirus and they didn’t. They probably didn’t have a testing kit,” Sean says.
“So, something like that is a really big concern. Fortunately it seems like my dad is okay, but he lives in an independent living facility with obviously a lot of other elderly people, and if coronavirus got into a facility like that, I mean, it would be a real problem.”
Rob, meanwhile, is less worried.
“I mean, obviously I hope I don’t get it. But there’s no point in worrying beyond that, I guess,” he says.
