
There is an expanding global outbreak of a respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, three individuals in Iowa have presumptively tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). While most COVID-19 cases are associated with travel to or from China, person-to-person spread is now being reported in other places, including Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. For the general public, who are unlikely to be exposed to the virus at this time, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is low.