Given that it’s peak season for respiratory infections, patients tend to panic when they see “a positive coronavirus diagnosis on their record,” said Lisa Henry, marketing director for Mary Washington Healthcare.

The patients do indeed have a coronavirus, but not the coronavirus that’s making the nightly news and daily papers. Still, because there are a lot of people sick with the flu—as there always are this time of year—the mere mention of the word creates anxiety, Henry said.

Rossheim said his team’s response focuses on multiple areas, including daily contact with the Virginia Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and community partners such as governments and hospitals.

“The current situation is fluid,” Rossheim said, adding that the nation’s current public-health response is to direct all flights from China to 11 specific American airports and screen travelers there, then have them monitored by their local health districts. “We need to see how these measures work.”

Because there have been no cases in Virginia, there are no plans for mass school closures or similar actions, Rossheim said.

“It’s too early to know if this type of aggressive public health measure would be needed,” he added.