Top surgeon warns against panic over coronavirus

A leading orthopedic surgeon in the United States has warned against unnecessary scaremongering over the coronavirus but urges people in both China and the United States to take simple precautions to avoid catching the virus.

David Price Roye, Jr, an emeritus pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Columbia University Medical Center in New York retired from his role at Columbia on Friday and has decided to live and work in China where he has taught and treated patients periodically for over 20 years.

He will travel there in mid-February amid the outbreak of the virus which has sparked panic worldwide. But he says he is not worried about traveling to Asia.

"I'm not afraid of coming to Beijing at all. I am much more fearful of living in New York and getting the flu. I'm much more likely to die of that than I am of any coronavirus," Roye said.

"This year, so far, in the United States more than 8,000 people have died of influenza. More than 140,000 people have been hospitalized and more than 15 million infections have been documented. These are numbers from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). And yet we don't seem to care. It's just accepted. The death rate from influenza is twice what it is from this new virus."

He advises people to carry hand sanitizer and wash their hands frequently.

He also believes that it is best not to touch a surface and then your face, eyes or mouth and avoid anyone who is coughing and sneezing profusely by getting two meters away.

He adds that there is little evidence that wearing a mask will protect a person from catching the virus. But he says they are good if someone has the flu and wants to prevent giving it to someone else. That helps to keep others safe.

The US State Department has urged US citizens not to travel to China amid the outbreak. US President Donald Trump branded the virus a public health emergency and has barred all foreign nationals from entering the country within two weeks of visiting China.

But Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry criticized the move. She said in a statement: "There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel."

"The US reaction is a gross overreaction," Roye agrees as he believes that the coronavirus is not like SARS or MERS as it's not nearly as deadly even though it is highly contagious.

"Why are Americans so unconcerned about catching the flu which kills them… and they are so very concerned about the coronavirus which is not even here? The risk to the average American of the coronavirus is zero," he said.

Roye has a passion for international health care.

He runs seminars in the US and China about leadership and management and has a clinical education arm in New York and an office in Boston at Harvard hospital, Stanford, and several other hospitals. He has helped train Chinese physicians in the US offering one to three months observerships in various specialties.

He praises China's medical rooms and operating rooms. And he said that the culture respects people with age and experience. He will still carry out surgeries abroad.

The surgeon, who has been ranked one of US' top doctors, is married with six children (four of whom are doctors.)

He says that all of his children have expressed concern about his trip to China due to the virus, but he assured them that he would be fine.

Speaking about the future course of the virus, Roye said: "Antivirals are much more available now and some of them seem to be effective in helping control the coronavirus. I personally don't think there's going to be a pandemic."

Ahead of his trip, he says the US and China must try to foster better relations with each other because "Neither country can succeed without the other".