Shreveport-Bossier City city administrators and school districts already have pandemic plans in place and are ready to roll them out when COVID-19, or coronavirus, shows up here.

But that doesn’t mean local officials are just standing by and waiting for the virus to make its presence known.

Preventative measures are being taken at every level as officials and administrators are in constant communication with the Louisiana Department of Health as they continue to monitor the virus as it spreads throughout the United States and other parts of the world.

“We’ve been watching on the news for some time now that the coronavirus is spreading around the world,” Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins told the crowd gathered Friday for a press conference at Government Plaza.

The afternoon press conference was Perkins’ way of bringing together city officials, hospital and health agency representatives, school districts and university systems to share information about their preparedness plans.

UPDATE:Jefferson Parish patient is Louisiana's first presumptive positive novel coronavirus case

'Coordination on multiple levels'

Though there are no reported cases of the virus in Louisiana, more than 20 people reportedly are being kept in their homes for a two-week isolation period after returning from an area affected by the virus.

Dr. Martha Whyte, regional medical director for Louisiana’s Office of Public Health Northwest Region, spoke with The Times Thursday to share planning and coordination efforts with local agencies.

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“There is coordination on multiple levels,” Whyte said. “The Office of Public Health which is part of the Louisiana Department of Health, follow CDC guidelines and communicates with the CDC with multiple calls a week. The CDC works with the states and we work within our region with our local agencies, hospitals, prisons, schools and so on. Even though there are no reported case of coronavirus in Louisiana, there is still a lot of actions going on.”

Pandemic planning for local agencies go as far back as the H1N1, the swine flu outbreak from April 2009 – Aug. 10, 2010.

“We’ve asked all of those agencies to pull out those plans and update them to make sure they still make sense and will work for the system they have in place now,” Whyte said.

If there are cases in Louisiana or here locally, coordination starts with testing the patient, Whyte said.

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“They will call Public Health’s Infectious Disease, to make sure (the individual) meet the guidelines to be tested,” Whyte explained. "We will help them with how to collect the sample and how to get it to the state laboratory and the state laboratory runs the test.

“We do everything all the way down to how the patient will come in because we don’t want a patient to just walk into a hospital if they might have coronavirus. So, we would call the hospital and say, ‘We have someone the doctor wants tested and they meet the guidelines and how do you want us to do this?’’’

Whyte said Friday that testing was broadened to include private laboratories.

Every hospital has a plan as to how they will bring a potentially infected patient into the hospital to be tested.

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“Once we have a case, then a lot of things will kick into place,” Whyte said. “We do an epidemiological study where we would look at who they’ve been in close contact with. You have to be within six feet of each other for an extended period of time and we would want to make sure that all of those people know they were connected to a case and that they need to stay home as much as possible and do self-isolation in the home.”

Response for local schools

Caddo Parish and Bossier Schools are working closely with the Office of Public Health and are following the same protocols and guidelines.

School officials advise students, staff and families to adhere to recommended protocols from the CDC such as thorough hand washing and cleaning surfaces and following the school district’s policy regarding illness.

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Those guidelines call for students and staff to be fever and symptom free for a minimum of 24 hours without medication before returning to school or activities. which limits the community spread potential of not only the coronavirus but other viruses such as the flu.

As with other respiratory viruses, the district is required to report cases of coronavirus to the Office of Public Health.

As to what point a school will need to shut down, a discussion will take place between the Department of Health and the Department of Education to make that determination.

“It will probably depend on whether that child was in school as to whether we would want to close all of them,” Whyte said. “We really want to keep our society running as smoothly as possible. We want the least amount of economic upset and we don’t want to cause a panic, but we do want to make sure we keep people safe and healthy and able to move forward with their daily lives. So, it really depends on the situation.”

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Bossier schools and centers are closed for spring break and are scheduled to return March 16. Spring break for Caddo Parish Schools starts March 23 and ends March 27.

Response levels vary

Response levels are different for people in nursing homes who need critical care versus a daycare, as very few children are infected with the virus.

“They don’t know exactly why that is, but it is a blessing,” Whyte said. “Our response to an elementary school would be a lot less drastic than it would be for a nursing home. So, we do address it and scale to the situation. The coordinated effort is that all of these agencies are now talking on a regular basis.”

MORE:Coronavirus a concern in nursing homes, where 75% have been cited for infection control errors

Similar to the flu in that it’s most often spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes within six feet of another person, the virus causes respiratory illness, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Individuals with pre-existing health conditions over 80 years of age will need to be more careful.

First identified in Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of a pneumonia-like illness began December 2019, the coronavirus name refers to the crown-like spikes on its surface, and “corona” means “halo” or “crown” in Latin.

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Symptoms of the virus, that may appear within two days of exposure and last as long as 14 days, include fever, cough and shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.

Bossier City administrators are staying up to date on the latest developments regarding COVID-19.

“The school boards, parish and city governments are all working together to ensure that the people are safe and that they know the precautions that something as simple as washing your hands can prevent this from spreading,” said Bossier City Chief Administrative Officer Pam Glorioso.

Coronavirus impact on study abroad programs

Cami Geisman, vice president of external affairs for University of Louisiana System, a public, multi-campus university system that encompasses nine diverse higher education institutions — Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Monroe, and University of New Orleans — told The Times that University of Louisiana at Lafayette, canceled its study abroad program in Italy for the summer 2020 semester.

A statement from the school reads, “This comes as UL Lafayette continues to monitor the ongoing situation concerning COVID-19, or coronavirus.

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"This decision does not affect summer Study Abroad programs in England and Costa Rica. Students who were scheduled to travel to Italy as part of Study Abroad will receive full refunds. The health and safety of students, faculty and staff members remains the University’s paramount concern. UL Lafayette personnel are working closely with the Louisiana Office of Public Health and are also monitoring guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. State Department.”

There are no restrictions on international students currently enrolled at the UL Lafayette traveling back to their home countries. However, federal restrictions may be instituted that deny or delay re-entry into the United States. International students are encouraged to research travel restrictions before making travel plans, information on the school’s website cautioned.

MORE:Are more coronavirus travel restrictions coming? Experts say they only delay the inevitable

For more information about COVID-19, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at CDC.gov.

Additionally, Nicholls State cancelled two summer trips, one to China and one to Europe.

Are international students currently at UL Lafayette able to travel back to their home countries?

Information posted on the UL Lafayette’s website says, "There are no restrictions on international students currently enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette traveling back to their home countries. However, federal restrictions may be instituted that deny or delay re-entry into the United States. International students should research travel restrictions before planning to travel.''