Coronavirus: You may need to take a 2-week break from your life, CDC says

Enlarge / SEATTLE, WA - FEBRUARY 29: Healthcare workers transport a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance at Life Care Center of Kirkland on February 29, 2020, in Kirkland, Washington. Dozens of staff and residents at Life Care Center of Kirkland are reportedly exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms. (credit: Getty | David Ryder)

As ramped-up testing for COVID-19 by individual US states exposes hidden cases, disease transmission, and deaths, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging citizens to do their part to stop the spread of the new virus-including taking an extended hiatus from their daily lives.

"You may need to take a break from your normal daily routine for two weeks," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a briefing Tuesday.

At the time of publishing this story, there were at least 118 COVID-19 cases and nine deaths reported across at least 12 states in the US. Of those cases, 48 are in repatriated citizens, and the rest are a mix of travel-related cases, cases linked to travel cases, and community-spread cases. All of the deaths have occurred in Washington state, where the first US case was detected. Many of the cases in the state have since been linked to an outbreak in a King County skilled nursing home called Life Care.

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