MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Thursday, Catholic Medical Center (CMC) released information regarding the spread of COVID-19, better known as the novel coronavirus to provide the public on what they can expect from local healthcare providers and how to stop the spread of the disease.

In New Hampshire, test samples are currently taken at local hospitals and sent to the state for analysis. Tests with positive results at the state lab are sent to the Center for Disease Control for confirmation. Anyone tested will be sent home for 14 days of isolation unless a higher level of care is needed.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, coughing, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

Anyone who does not have symptoms and has not recently travelled to China, South Korea, Iran or Italy will not be tested, and New Hampshire residents should not request testing unless directed to do so by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Most people who contract the virus will only experience mild illness, however anyone with symptoms should seek immediate emergency care.

CMC also recommends hand washing, not touching one’s face with unwashed hands, staying home when sick and saving masks for those who display symptoms.

“This is a rapidly developing situation,” said CMC President & CEO Joseph Pepe, MD, “but we know that staying calm and informed can help us, as a community, to control the spread of this virus.”