HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) — Amid fears over growing novel coronavirus cases in the U.S., including confirmed cases in North Carolina and Maryland, a social media post containing inaccurate information about a Harrisonburg clinic quickly gained hundreds of shares on Thursday.
An individual claimed that the Emergicare on Neff Ave. in Harrisonburg was shut down due to a patient with a virus. But, according to Emergicare, that was not true.
The emergency care center is open and taking patients on Friday, despite worried responses to the third party social media post on Thursday.
We reached out to Emergicare on Thursday night in response to an initial call about the situation, and on Friday, staff at the center were able to confirm facts to WHSV about what did happen.
Someone came into the facility on Thursday with upper respiratory symptoms and asked to be checked out as a precaution. For context, the novel coronavirus symptoms identified by the CDC are fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
The person wanted staff to be abundantly cautious and for their own precaution, Emergicare staff contacted the Virginia Department of Health, which came by the center as requested.
Everything checked out fine, the person was sent home, and Emergicare reopened to all patients.
Local law enforcement agencies and others have reiterated how important it is to be sure information you’re sharing on social media comes from a credible source.
“If you’re not sure of the information you’re posting, it can definitely be a detriment. . . it also can cause undue fear,” Sgt. Chris Monahan previously told WHSV. “I think it’s important if you’re gonna share information, share information you’re seeing on a legitimate site.”
No one has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Virginia. Thirty-one potential cases have been tested, 21 came back negative, and ten remain pending.
