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Health care providers and Jefferson County health officials met with Port Arthur Health Department officials Thursday to discuss prevention of the spread of coronavirus, which the World Health Organization has described as a pandemic.

Judith Smith, the director of the Port Arthur Health Department, said at the time the county has not confirmed any cases of the novel virus, which the WHO also terms as COVID-19.

No vaccine has been developed or any other cure found for the virus.

“We decided to do a roundtable discussion to discuss with our community as a whole what are we doing at individual facilities to prevent the spread of coronavirus, to contain it once we have a case,” Smith said. “This is just to get together and discuss if we have to go to non-pharmaceutical measures, including social distancing and mass gatherings being canceled. It was a lot of good discussion.”

The meeting included long-term care providers, emergency room and emergency management workers in the southern part of the county and officials from Gulf Coast Health Center, according to Smith.

The continuation of the Nederland Heritage Festival through Sunday was discussed as well, but Smith said postponing or canceling the event was not the call for any of the officials to make. The Port Arthur Health Department serves Port Arthur, Port Neches, Groves and Sabine Pass.

“Our goal is basically to educate the public and let the citizens know the things to do,” Smith said. “We don’t have any antivirals or vaccines. We can only do preventative measures. That’s basically through education and instruction.”

The department is working with Texas Department of State Health Services to inform the public on the awareness of COVID-19. Smith said an updated message from her department would be made available on the city’s website, portarthurtx.gov. The message also will be distributed to churches to reach the elderly.

What to do?

Anyone who feels sick should call his or her primary care provider before checking in to allow the doctor to prepare the office.

“Tell them you’re having signs and symptoms like cough, congestion, shortness of breath and fever,” Smith said. “It is recommended flu tests be done first. Most primary care providers are doing flu tests. We have a primary care clinic based on an eligibility requirement.”

The PAHD office is located at 449 Austin Ave. However, test kits for coronavirus are not available there.

Those who do not have a primary care provider can visit the Gulf Coast Health Center at 2548 Memorial Blvd. or 601B Rev. Ransom Howard St.

Emergency rooms are not always recommended, but those who fall into a high-risk group for COVID-19 will need to utilize an ER.

Who is at high risk?

Using guidance from the state health department, a person is tested and has signs of symptoms of lower respiratory symptoms, cough, fever or shortness of breath, he or she is at high risk for coronavirus, Smith said.

Health care providers also would like to know if anyone with the symptoms has traveled to a geographic area affected by COVID-19 or if the patient is a health care worker or been in contact with a laboratory-confirmed case, she added. Such patients are also considered high risk.

“We want to make sure those who need to be tested are tested,” Smith said. “We realize family members are in nursing homes. We know there’ll be screening before they are entered.”

Steward Health Care, the parent company of the Medical Center of Southeast Texas, announced that its hospitals would not permit children 12 and younger who are not seeking medical treatment until further notice, but did not make any reference to the coronavirus. Steward added those outside this age group who feel sick and are not seeking care are asked to avoid visiting hospitals or other health care facilities in order to protect patients, hospital staff and “the broader community.”

Who to call?

Those with questions about COVID-19 may call the PAHD at 409-983-8874. Calls after 5 p.m. are connected to an answering service, where officials will be available to answer questions. Information is also available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov.

“We want to thank our citizens for being cautious and taking caution into consideration,” Smith said. “I think our citizens have done an excellent job.”