US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the United States is in “active containment mode” and is using isolation units for positive coronavirus patients to contain spread.
This morning, speaking with the House Ways & Means Committee about the 2021 budget, Azar said currently, when a patient tests positive, they go into an “Ebola-like isolation unit” adding “that is not what’s indicated medically for these individuals.”
“It's really important we correct this impression that it will require this massive hospital isolation for normal patients,” Azar said. “If we end up having broader spread, it’ll be a much more common approach. As [CDC’s Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne] Schuchat called it, it’ll look and feel to the American people more like a severe flu season, in terms of the interventions and approaches you see.”
Azar said most people who get coronavirus will have mild to moderate symptoms and will be able to stay home, treating it like the severe flu or cold.