Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus is an emerging health threat in the 21st century. Although it is mainly associated with the latest outbreak in Wuhan, China, it raises concerns across the world, including Haines City, Florida. While there have been no confirmed cases, the potential threat of an epidemic remains a social issue. The best way to solve it would be through a comprehensive information campaign educating people on the threat and its limitations.
The potential threat of an epidemic is always a social issue, since, should the population not be informed well enough, it may lead to the spread of irresponsible speculations and even panic. This problem is best solved through a comprehensive information campaign – as Song et al. (2019) point out, raising awareness of the new agent is pivotal in such cases. The campaign should focus on educating the population about the prophylactic measures with an explicit focus on simple yet effective solutions such as washing hands frequently. Although there are no confirmed cases of SARS coronavirus in Haines City of the entire state of Florida, there are already reports of people avoiding their Chinese acquaintances (Bouffard, 2020).
Therefore, the campaign should also caution people against unfounded suspicions and explain that, while the present outbreak originated in China, there are no grounds to suspect any Chinese person of being infected. Finally, the information from China indicates worrying rates of nosocomial infection (Song et al., 2019). Thus, apart from the information campaign aimed at the general population, healthcare institutions of Haines City, Florida need to adhere to preventive measures stringently.
SARS coronavirus is only a potential threat for Haines City so far, but preventing misinformation and potential panic is still an important social problem. The best way to achieve it would be an information campaign educating people about the new threat. When properly informed, people will be better protected and less inclined to support baseless and harmful speculations.
References
Bouffard, K. (2020). Coronavirus outbreak: Polk, Florida health experts weigh in on global climate of fear surrounding disease. The Ledger. Web.
Song, Z., Xu, Y., Bao, L., Zhang, L., Yu, P., Qu, Y., Zhu, H., Zhao, W., Han, Y., & Qin, C. (2019). From SARS to MERS, thrusting coronaviruses into the spotlight. Viruses, 11(1), 59. Web.