CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Center for Disease Control is warning schools and businesses to prepare for a nationwide spread of the Novel Corona virus that has killed more than 2,700 people worldwide.
As of Tuesday, more than 80,000 people around the world are sick from the virus, mostly in China and other foreign countries.
In light of this development, sailors aboard foreign cargo ships coming into the Port of Corpus Christi will be checked for outward signs of illness.
The Seamen’s Center hosts upwards of 500 foreign sailors each week. The center either picks the sailors up at their cargo ships and drives them to shopping areas or hosts them at their center. But are these sailors checked for any type of communicable diseases before coming ashore?
We reached out to the Port of Corpus Christi about this issue and they issued this statement: “The Port of Corpus Christi supports the US Coast Guard and the US Customs and Border Protection in their efforts to mitigate any health risk to the Coastal Bend community.”
The statement goes on to sat: “We work in close coordination with area emergency managers, public health officials and preparedness groups and we maintain continual communication with the US Coast Guard. We have full confidence that appropriate coordination will occur if an individual displaying flu-like symptoms with a history of travel to mainland China is identified on board a vessel. The safety of our employees, customers and community remains the top priority for the Port of Corpus Christi.”
The City County Health District also weighed in on the issue, saying: “The Health District is preparing staff for the possibility of a local case of the COVID-19. We are reaching out and meeting with different local partners, hospitals, emergency managers, medical society, port, etc. We are working with the Department of State Health Services and CDC to monitor persons coming back from China. We are monitoring the situation globally and utilizing this time to prepare properly”
There are no cases of the corona virus in the Coastal Bend. Medical experts in the community are assuring the community they will remain vigilant and recommend the public stay informed.
