Lhe coronavirus has infected more than 100 people and caused the death of a dozen patients in the United States. Contamination cases "Spontaneous" have been identified in several states: the methods of transmission of the virus are still unknown. These uncertainties have led the Washington and Rhode Island authorities to declare a state of emergency.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring the situation closely, but initial malfunctions, blamed on its hasty management of the epidemic, have earned it much criticism from the Trump administration. The screening test originally developed by the CDC proved to be unusable. Only three of the hundred local CDCs were able to use it for screening. These flaws have considerably delayed the handling of suspected cases in the past two weeks. They are all the more worrying as the US CDC largely inspires the protocols of action of its foreign counterparts.
In public health, the United States has an arsenal of institutions, actors and instruments entirely devoted to protecting the health of populations.
Present in all states, the CDC has nearly 15,000 employees, who can be mobilized at any time. Epidemiological risk surveillance networks provide coverage of the entire territory. The suspicious signals are quickly communicated to the federal authorities. The CDC's strike force is such that the operational management of the crisis will mainly be their responsibility.
On the front line when faced with the virus, can public health actors and health professionals alone take on the management of an unprecedented crisis, in a country where the rights of patients and workers are incomplete?
Few sick leaves
Sick leave does not exist in US federal law. Tertiary workers and individuals in low-skilled or insecure jobs are unlikely to benefit from paid leave in the event of illness. Only 63% of people working in the service industry have sick leave, compared to 90% for people in managerial positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor agency's statistical agency.
The confinement instructions could therefore be little followed by those whose absence (even for a short period) is not remunerated and can constitute a reason for immediate dismissal. The generalization of paid sick leave (sick leaves) is one of the most effective tools to fight the virus, according to a recent study relayed by the CDC.
