rumors of a flight coming here to san francisco with diplomates from china. i want you to know that we are not aware of any such flight, and if anything changes, we are prepared to take the necessary steps to address it, and we will make sure that we notify the public every step of the way. so at this time, we have a number of our department heads that are here to talk specifically about their role, what we are doing and what we will continue to do, and i want to thank you all for being here today to help us get the word out so that the public is aware of the facts and the situation here in san francisco. so with that, i want to start with the director of emergency management, mary ellen carroll. >> thank you, mayor breed, and thank you all for being here. the city has been working with our federal, state, and local

partners for almost the last two weeks since the first initial outbreak in china. these partners include the c.d.c., the state office of emergency services, and s.f.o. today, you are all here. welcome to the emergency operations center for the city. we have activated the ops center, and -- basically to ensure our readiness to respond. we -- it's the role of the e.o.c. basically to provide situational awareness and to coordinate resources and information. we will be broadcasting in partnership with the department of public health public health information about how to prevent the spread of the virus and how to stay healthy during flu season. so with that, i'm going to introduce dr. tomas aragon from the department of public health.

>> good afternoon. my name is tomas aragon, and i'm with the san francisco department of public health. we are working closely with the california department of public health and the centers for disease control and prevention to track this novel coronavirus which originated in wuhan, china. this situation is rapidly evolving and changing. it's important to recognize that there are no confirmed cases in san francisco at this time. we are actively preparing for the possibility of confirmed cases. we have activated our emergency response plan specifically for this type of scenario. this is what we do in public health. we have a lot of experience responding to outbreaks. we are in touch with our health care providers, our hospitals, our regional, state, and federal partners as we implement pret

implement protocols on how to identify potential cases, how to isolate them, how to test them, and how to ensure they don't affect others. at this time, residents of the bay area are at low risk of becoming infected with this novel coronavirus. unless they have recently been to wuhan, china or unless they're in contact with somebody that's a confirmed case from that area. it's important to know that at this time of year, there's still important things we can do to protect our health. for example, making sure that we wash or hands, that we cover our coughs and sneezes, and that we stay home if we're sick. it's not too late to get the flu shot and prevent symptoms similar to the novel coronavirus. at this time, i'm going to turn it over to our colleague from the airport, mr. ivan sotero,

from the san francisco international airport, who will give us an update on what's happening there. >> good afternoon. ivan satoro, san francisco international. although the flight from wuhan was cancelled, all departing flights from wuhan, there was a direct flight to s.f.o., and that was ceased last thursday. we still have a flight to s.f.o. for any lingering folks traveling to the u.s., to s.f.o., in the event they stopped in wuhan, and we are monitoring the state department flight out of wuhan, and our latest information is that flight will arrive to the u.s.

v via anchorage, and it will land in ontario. we will have two checks. first for passengers boarding the plane and u.s. -- officials will do a second check upon landing, and then a third health check before taking off and landing in ontario, so we'll notify you of any changes as the flight makes its way to the u.s., and i understand it will be departing sometime tomorrow. thanks. >> the hon. london breed: all right. so that concludes the information that we have at this time. are we going to take a few

questions? [inaudible] >> thank you. it's a very good question. we have decided, in consultation with our regional and state partners, in order to not confuse the public, that we would only be reporting confirmed cases. the state will be developing a summary at a state level that you can look at that will have more specificity, and the c.d.c. will also be doing that. [inaudible] [inaudible] >> currently, the risk for acquiring this infection in the united states is very low, and

at this time, we're not recommending any special measures, including masks, so it's not necessary. >> the coronavirus is novel. can you go over the symptoms, how people will tell if they have the flu or coronavirus? >> it's novel, so that's why we can't confirm with just the symptoms. it's where people have been. so people that have arrived from wuhan, china. that specific information with their symptoms is how we determine who needs to be evaluated. [inaudible] >> -- where will people be quarantined if they do come up? >> so the san francisco airport is located in san mateo county, so the san francisco airport has arrangements with san mateo health department to evaluate

patients. >> did you want to say where they're going to go? people are afraid. >> i'm not sure where they're going to go to. >> so even though the max is not recommende -- mask is not recommended, people are still concerned and not receiving information. can you confirm what type of mask to wear for the coronavirus, because some people feel they have to have a certain type. >> that's a very good question. the question was, is what type of mask, if somebody chooses to do the mask? at this point, we're not recommending that anybody wear any mask. what mask is used when they are recommended differs on the environment. so in the health care environment, they will be doing things a little bit differently. the challenge is that we don't know enough about the virus. we don't know enough about the virus. if we learn more, it will give us more guidance on the level of infection control that's

required. >> with an incubation period of roughly 14 days, is there any action to check people who arrived in early flights, considering it takes 14 days for the infect to take hold. >> so when people land from china, they are given instructions in their native language so they know what steps to take next and get connected with their health care provider. >> so no plans from the emergency management system to contact them? >> if they get screened and they get symptoms, they'll get

health care. if they don't have symptoms, they'll get instructions on what to do next because people may have symptoms outside of the state of california. >> all right.are we okay? okay? we're