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The World Health Organization on Friday raised the global risk posed by the new coronavirus from “high” to “very high,” the most serious assessment in its four-stage alert system. With fears of a global pandemic mounting, now is the time to consider preparing for a possible local outbreak at home.

Health officials say there are several ways to protect yourself and your family from potentially catching the new coronavirus — or COVID-19, the formal name of the new virus. Arguably, many are common sense, and most of the measures you should take at home to prevent illness aren’t much different from those you’d take to protect yourself from the flu.

Here is a checklist of steps to take at home, and supplies to keep on hand should you or your family members become sick. Above all, health officials say it’s important to not let fear or emotions dictate your response to a potential threat.

“The mantra is, ‘Keep calm and carry on,'” Dr. Marguerite Neill, an infectious disease expert at Brown University, said in an interview with The New York Times.

Food And Supplies

To prepare for a pandemic, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends that you have on hand a two-week supply of food and water.

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Related: It’s Not A Question Of If Coronavirus Will Spread To U.S. Communities, But When: CDC

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Think about adding non-perishable foods to your pantry, health officials told NPR, and have at the ready your go-to foods for illness, such as chicken or vegetable broth and crackers.

Medications

The Department of Homeland Security recommends periodically checking your regular prescription drugs to ensure you have a continuous supply at home. You also should have these non-prescription drugs and other health supplies on hand:

Health Records

Get copies and maintain electronic versions of health records from doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and other sources, and store them for personal reference.

Cleaning Products

When it comes to coronavirus, most household cleaners — such as bleach wipes or alcohol — will kill the new coronavirus, Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center, told NPR, adding even wiping surfaces down with soap and water should do the trick.

A few cleaning staples to have on hand include:

Face Masks

Contrary to what many may believe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say wearing a face mask is not an effective way to prevent yourself from catching a respiratory virus such as coronavirus. You should only wear a mask if a health care professional recommends it.

However, a face mask should be used by people who have coronavirus and are showing symptoms. This is to reduce the risk of infecting others.

Other Supplies

A good rule of thumb is to always keep survival and first aid kits on hand in case of emergencies, according to the American Red Cross. You should also double-check your supply of the following products:

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Check Your Behavior

While the best way to prevent illness is to avoid virus exposure, the CDC always recommends taking preventive actions to contain the spread of viruses. This includes:

Earlier this week, a top official at the CDC said during a news conference it’s only a matter of time before the new coronavirus spreads to communities across the United States. Communities, schools and businesses should begin preparing now for “the expectation that this could be bad,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease.

COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that’s a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. The symptoms are similar to seasonal influenza, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Both are infectious respiratory illnesses, but they’re caused by different viruses.

Both cause fever, cough, body aches and fatigue, and can result in pneumonia. Both illnesses can sometimes cause vomiting and diarrhea.

As of Feb. 28, there are 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, according to the CDC’s website. Nearly 460 people have been tested.

The virus — which originated in Wuhan, China — has infected at least 83,600 people, and 2,800 people have died, creating a global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. It is spreading so quickly overseas that infectious disease experts and scientists warn there may be no way to contain it.

King County health officials in Washington state confirmed the first U.S. death from the new coronavirus Saturday, Patch editor Lucas Combos reported, as well as two additional coronavirus cases in King County. The announcement came a day after the state Department of Health had announced two other infections in Washington state — one in King County and one in Snohomish County. An earlier case in January brings the total cases in the state to six, and more are expected to follow, health officials said.

This week, health officials in California also confirmed the first coronavirus case in the United States in which the patient had no known exposure to the virus through travel to China or close contact with a known infected person, Patch editor Maggie Fusek reported for Dixon, California, Patch. The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in nearby Sacramento County.

A second case of unknown origin also was confirmed in California Friday, Patch editor Nick Garber reported. The infected individual, an older woman, lives in Santa Clara County and has not traveled to any of the countries with widespread outbreaks of coronavirus.

Two cases of unknown origin also have been identified in Washington state — a teen boy who had no recent travel history or close contacts — and Oregon, where an elementary school staff member in Lake Oswego is in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center, Patch editor Colin Miner reported.

Thousands of others across the country are being monitored for the new coronavirus, including 8,400 people in the state of California, 33 of whom tested positive — more than double the total number of national cases reported by the CDC, which notes on its website that its calculation “does not include people who returned to the United States via State Department-chartered flights.”

In Massachusetts, more than 230 people who may have been exposed to the virus are being monitored and self-quarantined in their homes, state health officials told Patch.

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