US coronavirus cases are expected to increase in the coming days, but a Yale health expert and radiologist says there’s no reason to panic.

The number of confirmed cases will increase dramatically in the next week or so as existing cases are identified, he said.

As more people seek medical attention, even for the seasonal flu, facilities will be under stress to handle the volume of patients.

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The United States is expected to see its number of coronavirus cases soar in the coming days, but according to the Yale professor Howard P. Forman, a practicing radiologist and expert in healthcare management, you shouldn’t be alarmed.

The confirmed number of coronavirus cases is likely to increase dramatically, Forman explained in an interview with Yale Insights published Sunday – but that’s because existing cases will be properly tested and identified.

“There is absolutely going to be an explosion in the number of identified cases,” Forman told Yale Insights. “But how fast that number increases is highly dependent on how fast we can test.”

While China still has many new cases, every day, they are no longer the majority of NEW world-wide cases. Outside of China, growth factor in new cases is 31%. 13% of all new cases (outside of China) were discovered yesterday. 2/ pic.twitter.com/iQrkb2yubB — (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) March 1, 2020

The number of test kits in the US has been inadequate, Forman said. But as testing becomes more readily available, more cases will be uncovered.

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As more people seek treatment, even for the seasonal flu, healthcare systems will be spread thin, especially with ventilator beds for patients with severe cases, Forman said. But he said most hospitals and health facilities have emergency planning for scenarios like this. (Read more about what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling hospitals to do to prepare for the coronavirus.)

It will be easy to panic over next few days. We have extraordinary talent at federal (@CDCgov) & state levels working diligently to diagnose & contain this outbreak. Data will LAG their good work. Healthcare providers WILL be overwhelmed: @jameshamblin 8/ https://t.co/NTrJqrBTSj — (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) March 1, 2020

There have been more than 87,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 3,000 deaths, mostly in China. The US confirmed its first coronavirus-related death over the weekend. On Sunday, the first case in New York was confirmed.

“The numbers may look gruesome over the next week or so, but these are existing cases that are finally being diagnosed,” Forman said.