Don’t panic, don’t hoard, but take caution. What Fort Worth must do about coronavirus.

Now that Tarrant County has its first presumptive coronavirus case, it’s likely to have more, perhaps many more.

But there’s a lot that individuals and public officials can do to keep that number low. What’s important now is striking the proper balance: Everyone should take it seriously. It’s not a hoax or overhyped. But there’s no need for panic and overreaction.

Leaders at every level have difficult decisions to strike the right balance. Tarrant County officials need to remain communicative and transparent. The public needs to hear from health experts more than politicians.

This is a fragile moment for the economy, particularly in Texas, as we’re already vulnerable to plunging oil prices. No one wants to take steps that might push the state or country toward a recession, but no one wants to avoid a measure that will protect lives, either.

On the biggest priorities, here’s how our community should calibrate right now, until we know more:

How to stay well

The first and most important step for individuals remains regular, thorough hand-washing. Cough into your sleeve. If you’re sick, stay home and contact your doctor. Don’t rush to the emergency room, as hospitals need to be prepared for containing confirmed cases. Don’t hoard supplies — you don’t suddenly need 12 boxes of bleach wipes and cases of toilet paper.

Businesses have an important role to play. They should be wiping down surfaces and, as was mentioned at the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday, leaving internal doors open as much as possible. And managers must encourage sick employees to stay home, even if they need to provide paid leave they otherwise wouldn’t.

People tend to think primarily of themselves and their families in a crisis like this, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But this is a time to be concerned about the most vulnerable, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. Even if you’re healthy and you think the attention to coronavirus is overblown, take steps that will help avoid its spread, for the sake of others.

Containing the spread

Corralling the disease will ultimately fall to public health officials. Here, there are steps our local leaders must take.

Texas’ and Tarrant County’s high rate of residents without insurance make the task of containing the pandemic harder. And under current county policy, people who are in the country illegally can’t access discounted or free urgent care in the JPS Health system. Their only option is to go to the emergency room, and that’s not only costly, it will occupy resources that should be directed to dealing with the most urgent cases.

County commissioners should consider allowing anyone who might be ill to seek reduced-cost primary care. This isn’t the time to have a long-term debate over health care for unauthorized immigrants, but right now, the prudent step would be to ensure anyone who needs it can get primary care, lest they spread the illness.

Canceling events

One of the trickiest questions is how much to discourage public gatherings. “Social distancing” is an important element of containing the virus, but an overreaction could cause much needless suffering.

With spring approaching, a plethora of festivals are scheduled, including two of Fort Worth’s biggest annual public events: Main Street Arts Festival and Mayfest. Obviously, city leaders and organizers will have to seriously consider shutting them down. But we urge them to be prudent; consider, for instance, that the cancellation of Mayfest in 2009, over the city’s concerns about H1NI flu, nearly killed the festival and harmed the organizations it benefits.

Then, there are regular gatherings such as sporting events and concerts. By Wednesday, teams, leagues and cities began restricting crowds, and even the Texas Rangers’ opening series scheduled for Seattle was affected. Expect more of these decisions.

At a minimum, gatherings should be prepared to offer hand sanitizer and boost potential medical responses. And they might be able to play a screening role by offering temperature checks and quickly weeding out those with a fever.

For more routine events, such as school attendance, there’s a careful balance between preventing illness and disrupting lives. Consider that many parents will struggle to care for children -- and in many cases feed them -- if schools close for days or weeks. It’s not a step to be taken lightly.

Transparency, communication

We need regular, frank updates from public officials at all levels. Politicians should defer to health experts. And they should seek neither to downplay risks or inflame passions.

But in doing so, they need to be as precise as possible. For instance, Tarrant County public health director Vinny Taneja said Wednesday that residents shouldn’t have “fear of this virus. It is just like what we’ve seen with many other viruses.”

Not long after, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congress that it’s 10 times deadlier than the typical seasonal flu.

So, while the flu kills plenty of people, too, this is a much more serious situation, one people need to be aware of but not panic over.

This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 4:18 PM.