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Warning

What you need to know about coronoavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Given the rise of the Coronavirus [COVID 19] as a global health concern, we want to assure the community that our office is working closely with the Health Department, to ensure that residents are educated and prepared for the evolving situation. The following is a fact sheet with up-to-date information regarding this developing concern.

The New Jersey Department of Health hotline 1-800-222-1222 or 1-800-962-1253 (if using out-of-state phone line) is for the public to ask questions about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

We would also like to remind all members of our community, there are everyday preventive actions that can be taken to help limit the spread of respiratory viruses; including the Coronavirus and flu.

Common measures the CDC recommends for the general public include:Avoid close contact with people who are sick.Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. (Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, if soap and water is not available).

CDC Warning – Do Not Eat Romaine Lettuce

The CDC is advising that U.S. consumers not eat any romaine lettuce, and retailers and restaurants not serve or sell any, until we learn more about the outbreak. This investigation is ongoing and the advice will be updated as more information is available.

  • Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce in their home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick.
    ◦    This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad.
    ◦    If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away
    ◦    Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where romaine was stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.
     
  • Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing romaine.
     
  • Take action if you have symptoms of an E. coli infection:
    ◦    Talk to your healthcare provider.
    ◦    Write down what you ate in the week before you started to get sick.
    ◦    Report your illness to the health department.
    ◦    Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.
     
  • Advice to Clinicians
     
  • Antibiotics are not recommended for patients with E. coli O157 infections. Antibiotics are also not recommended for patients in whom E.coli O157 infection is suspected, until diagnostic testing rules out this infection.
     
  • Some studies have shown that administering antibiotics to patients with E. coli O157 infections might increase their risk of developing hemolytic uremic syndrome (a type of kidney failure), and the benefit of antibiotic treatment has not been clearly demonstrated.