For this briefing to update you on CDC's COVID-19

response.

We are joined by Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of

CDC's director of National Center for Immunizations and

Respiratory Diseases, who will take it over for

questions.

>> Thank you for the all of CDC's partners for joining

us today.

I want to explain a change in how we will be reporting

our confirmed cases of COVID-19 beginning today and

going forward.

Specifically we are breaking our case counts into two

separate tables.

One only tracks people retained by the state

department, and the other tracks all other cases

through the public healths network.

Candidate will continue to update the number CDC will

continue to update the numbers every Monday, Wednesday,

and Friday.

We don't believe the numbers represent what's happening

in the community -- as of this morning when you break

things up this way, we have 13 U.S. confirmed cases,

and 21 infected people when were repatriated.

The 21 number includes 18 passengers from the ship --

as of yesterday, February 20th, nearly all those who

are returned from woo Hahn, China, via state department

chartered flight have completed their 14-day quarantine

at 4 Department of Defense installations across the

U.S. We are truly thankful for those released from

quarantine, and wish them well as they return home.

As well I would like to thank the men and women on all

of the DOD bases and their families.

Also would like to thank the Travis Air Force base and

joint base San Antonio lackland that have continued to

open their doors to the recently returned passengers

from there diamond princess cruise ship.

In terms of the diamond princess earlier this week 329

U.S. citizens returned to the United States aboard two

state department chartered flights.

So far 18 have tested positive at CDC, there are an

additional 10 travelers who tested positive in Japan.

Multiple of these patients are receiving care at the

hospitals around the bases.

Because the passengers on the diamond princess were in

close setting we had a significant risk of spread of

COVID-19 they are considered at a high risk for

infection, and we do expect to see additional cases

among the passengers.

Also, since many of these passengers are over the age

of 60, we're prepared for other medical issues to rise

that will require hospitalization.

We're going to do everything we can to make their

quarantine as easy as possible, while monitoring them

to see if they develop illness.

Our goal for those people who have been repatriated is

to be sure each person is properly cared for and those

who need medical care receive it.

To ensure this we're working closely with local

hospitals and other facilities around the country who

are prepared to provide this care.

Despite the increase in cases in China, we believe the

aggressive travel precautions are working.

As I said the number of cases detected through regular

U.S. surveillance system as of this morning has

increased by 1 to 13.

The most recent patient was announced last night by

California.

The fact we have been able to keep this number low is

good news.

Especially giving what we're seeing among some

countries in Asia that are beginning to experience

community threats.

This is when cases are detected in the community but

it's not known what the source of the infection was.

This is being reported from Singapore, south Korea,

Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as Hong Kong and

Japan.

The last countries were issued level 1 travel notices

for earlier this week.

We're working in close coordination with the state

department to keep travelers informed with up to the

minute guidance including cruise ship travel.

And I would let you know as of late yesterday the state

department did post new guidance about cruise ship

travel for Americans that guidance is also posted now

on the CDC's travel website.

We never thought we would detect every passenger

returning from China.

Given the way it's spreading that would be impossible.

We're not seeing it in communities in the United

States.

It is passage, it will happen at some point in the

future.

Our goal continues to be slowing the introduction of

the virus into the U.S. Dethis buys us more time to

prepare our communities for more cases and possibly

community spread.

The new virus represents a tremendous public health

threat.

We don't have a vaccine for this novel virus, nor do we

have a medication to treat it simply.

We are now taking and will continue to take

unprecedented aggressive action to reduce the impact

this virus will have on communities in the United

States.

We are working with state, local, and territorial

health departments to public health workforce to

respond to local case, and the possibility of this

outbreak could become an epidemic, or can working

closely with healthcare systems across the country to

reinforce infection control principles,erse and plan

for surges of people seeking and requiring care.

Collaborating with supply chain partners to understand

what medical supplies are needed and available.

This will help CDC when we made need to take more

aggressive measures to ensure healthcare workers on the

front lines have access to the supplies they need.

We're working with business said, hospitals,

pharmacies, clinicians, manufacturers and distributors

to communicate about the measures and what they can do

to get ready.

I wanted to direct everyone to information on CDC's

website that provides guidance around community

mitigation.

The guidance that we're pointing to right now is in

MMWR on community mitigation guidelines to prevent

endemic influenza in the United States 2017.

But we're reviewing all of our pandemic materials and

updating them to reflect novel coronavirus.

These materials were a blueprint for the community

prevention we'll use in the United States.

If you're watching the news you'll hear about schools

shutting down and businesses closing in Asia to reduce

the spread of the virus.

The day may come when we will need to complement such

measures in the U.S. Bay next week we expect to be

posting a new web page focused on what the CDC is

already doing to mitigate transmission to community.

We recognize the uncertainty of the current situation,

as always, CDC public health experts strive to make the

best recommendations based on the most up to date data.

Our guidance will change as we learn more about this

virus.

When that happens we will share it with you.

I'll be happy to take some questions.

>> Thank you Dr. Nancy Messonnier.

We are taking questions now.

Our first question -- what is known about pregnant

females and COVID-19 effect on the mother and the

child?

>> So the concern here is whether or not there is

interuterine infection that is confused by transmission

from women to unborn babies.

There is one recent published article in the land --

but in the article there is no evidence of interuterine

infection.

Now pregnant women experience immunlogical and

physiological changes that may make them more at risk,

for morbidity and mortality.

Right now we have no evidence that the virus is

spreading among persons in the United States, in the

community, and the risk to general public is low.

However pregnant women, should as always, engage in

usual preventative actions to avoid infections like

washing their hands, covering their cough and avoiding

people who are sick.

>> The next question is there a timeline as of yet for

a peak and disease spread?

>> That's a really important question.

Right now, we don't have a clear answer for long the

outbreak will last in other countries or the U.S.

because it's dependent on many things.

We are looking closely at the extent of the over

throughout China and especially in we Hahn, we're

looking at the impact in traveling restrictions, the

sustained transmission occurring in other countries but

there are uncertainties about this virus.

We have to remember that this virus was only first

discovered in the beginning of January and still we are

in the early days of learning.

Now, in the United States there are a number of

mathematical modelers that are all working together as

they have for many years around infectious disease

modeling.

This group has been convened with the CDC for work that

we've done in the past with influenza, and we're

leaning on them now looking at the same data but

looking at it differently to try to make predictions

how this will rollout in the U.S.

I think it is not clear yet that we can be concrete.

All we should be saying is we do expect additional

cases in the United States, and that the window of time

we have thought border measures that slow the spread

down we need to use that time well to prepare better.

>> The next question when do we expect the travel ban

to be lifted?

I am hearing that delta is planning to start flights in

March.

>> Yeah, at this point CDC is continually assessing the

situation.

And the travel notices are as you know a level 3 travel

advisory to China.

Level 1 watch travel advisory for Hong Kong and Japan,

that is travelers to Hong Kong and other countries

should practice usual precautions.

We are everyday looking at the global data on where the

disease disease is spreading to make sure we are as up

to date as possible and our travel notices and working

closely with the state department to coincide with

them.

I understand that delta has made projections, but at

this point it is premature for CDC to make predictions

as to when the travel bans will be lifted, what we need

to focus on now is to continuing to try to slow down

the spread of the disease into the United States.

>> The next question, a little bitlong.

Request Dr. Nancy Messonnier comment on recent article

in journal of hospital infection, stating that how many

coronavirus such as acute respiratory syndrome, SARS,

Middle East respiratory syndrome, or endemic

coronaviruses can per ore persist on plastic metal or

glass for unto nine days but can be enact vade with

surface disinfectant measures.

Or within one minute.

Other biosidle agents such as .05-.2% benzyl chloride.

Or .02% -- are less effective.

This hard service survivability information is quite

different from most medical advisories have been saying

that virus sufferings for only a matter of survives for

only a matter of hours off host.

>> So the article this is referring to provides a

review of 22 separate studies that looked at

servability of SARS, MERS, or endemic Corona viruses on

surfaces.

Each of the studies only looks at different data points

not broadly across all the strains or all the

possibilities.

So, what I would say based on that is even in that

data, the virus doesn't seem to survive long on paper.

And so one question related to this data is a question

of whether packages coming from China are at risk and

we continue to believe that's a low risk.

A separate question is does the survivability on

surfaces, tell us anything about the transmission of

the virus.