TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – According to the Shawnee County Health Department, the current novel coronavirus is not the illness people in the Topeka area should be worried about.
The department says the flu has killed more than 8,000 people this flu season, compared to six confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the US.
Linda Ochs, Director of the Shawnee County Health Department, says the best way to protect yourself from the flu is to wash your hands regularly and to get the flu shot if you haven’t already.
If you are sick, they recommend that you stay at home until all flu symptoms are gone.
“Stay home for five days from the day you became symptomatic, or 24 hours fever-free, with no medication reducing your fever,” Ochs said.
There is a potential novel coronavirus case being tested at Lawrence Memorial Hospital as of Thursday afternoon. That patient came back within the last two weeks after traveling from China.