YORK, Maine — As the number of novel coronavirus cases ticks upward in certain U.S. communities, heightening concerns of potentially widespread disruption, local leaders said they are working together to ensure the town is appropriately prepared.

Town Manager Steve Burns said during Monday evening’s Board of Selectmen meeting that municipal department heads have been assessing the potential impacts a local case of COVID-19 could have on York’s core operations.

"Our primary concern is to keep the function of the town moving," Burns said.

The town has initiated a "measured response" to the potential risk, Burns said, likening the preparations currently underway to those the town took in 2006 in the face of bird flu concerns.

Police Chief Charles Szeniawski said his officers this week updated some of the standard questions they ask when responding to a call, to screen for any potential coronavirus concerns. Police have been collaborating with emergency medical responders, he said, to keep up with best practices.

Szeniawski said a wide array of community stakeholders, including municipal staff, police, health care professionals, school officials, clergy and others, have been involved in preparations, as local leaders keep in contact with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We are a community prepared," he said. "I do believe that."

While taking the risk seriously, the community should remain calm, Szeniawski said.

"There’s a difference between being prepared and being paranoid," he said.

Szeniawski alluded to a speech President Dwight Eisenhower delivered 63 years ago, in which Eisenhower said, "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."

"The point being," Szeniawski said, "that most events do not go exactly as planned, but the planning process allows us to succeed."

There were still no confirmed cases and no presumptive cases of COVID-19 anywhere in the state, as of Monday afternoon, according to the Maine CDC. Results are still pending for some tests that are being processed, according to Maine CDC spokesperson Robert Long.

A state-run lab in Augusta began testing for the virus Friday. Any presumptive positives discovered by the state-run lab will be forwarded to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation, Long said in a news release.

The state lab has capacity to test 100 to 200 patients per day, which has thus far significantly exceeded demand, the news release states. About 20 people in Maine had been "flagged" for testing, as of Saturday, Long said.

"The best thing that Maine people can do to protect their health," the release added, "is to take the same preventive measures that help to avoid catching a cold: Wash your hands often. Cover coughs and sneezes. Stay home if you are sick."

Szeniawski similarly encouraged community members to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze, wash their hands frequently, greet each other without shaking hands, voluntarily self-quarantine if they have recently traveled to areas significantly impacted by the virus and practice "social distancing" by avoiding mass gatherings, telecommuting to work if possible and staying at least 6 feet away from other people when possible.

Those who are experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms, which include fever, cough and shortness of breath, shouldn’t report immediately in person to a health care facility, Szeniawski said.

"Don’t go rushing down to the walk-in clinic or the ER," he said. "Call your primary care physician, should you have one. Explain your situation. Explain what your symptoms are. Have them advise you. ... If they do call you in, that way they’re prepared."

Szeniawski noted that people of Asian descent aren’t any more likely than anyone else to contract the virus, and said the U.S. CDC doesn’t recommend face masks for people who aren’t showing symptoms.

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