Dear Hideaway friends, as expected, COVID-19 is in our backyard. Let’s not be cavalier with it like many are with the flu. There is a difference between panicking and being prudent. What is of utmost importance now is to slow the spread of the virus so we don’t overwhelm our healthcare system. Please pay attention to infection control guidelines from reliable sources such as the local health department. The recommendations will change as we get more information about the virus.
The facts as of now:
80% of people with known coronavirus infection have relatively mild disease without requiring hospitalization. But that means 20% of them are getting hospitalized – a big strain on our system. That also means many people with mild symptoms are infecting others who might be more vulnerable.
2-3% of known cases in China are dying. In South Korea, where testing is more extensive, the numbers are just shy of 1%. These figures may decrease with greater testing, but for now that is all we have and that is all we can go by. The average seasonal flu mortality rate is 0.1%.
There is no vaccine and there won’t be one for likely another year.
We have limited number of test kits and limited number of labs who can run these test kits.
There is no drug treatment that is effective right now. All treatment is supportive. That means if you have mild symptoms of fever and cough, you can take acetaminophen (Tylenol), cough drops and plenty of water. If you have moderate to severe symptoms and in the hospital, you will be treated with oxygen and/or breathing machines for breathing difficulties, IV fluids if you are dehydrated, and IV medicines to keep your BP up if your organs are failing. Experimental combinations of existing drugs may be tried for the most severe cases.
What we should or should not do:
These are my recommendations as a doctor of Internal Medicine. In addition to my MD, I also have a Master’s in Public Health. These are based purely on what we know now and may change as more information about the virus becomes available.
We are in this for the long haul – it could take several weeks to months for things to return to normal.
1. Buy enough acetaminophen (Tylenol) and cough drops to treat your family for 2 weeks. Please do not empty out the shelves.
2. At the next grocery trip, get enough food for two weeks. Please do not empty out the shelves.
3. If you are on chronic, life-saving medications, see if you can switch to a 90 day prescription plan if you are getting just monthly refills now.
4. Avoid unnecessary travel by air, ship, train and bus until we know more.
5. Avoid large scale events like concerts and conferences until we know more.
6. Avoid forwarding messages on social media if you are not certain of its origin. There is rampant fake information about fake preventive and curative treatments, which is especially dangerous now when people are vulnerable and afraid. If you are unsure about some information circulating in social media please check on Snopes.com, which is a reliable source for fact checking.
7. Stay home if you have mild symptoms of just fever or cough, but do call your doctor for further instructions. Please don’t show up at the ER demanding to be tested for coronavirus if you normally would not have gone. If you have shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, dizziness or lightheadedness, confusion or altered consciousness, then please do go immediately to the ER. According to our own excellent infectious disease specialist, Dr. Debbie Bridges, please call the hospital ER and let them know you are coming. There are separate areas set up for Covid screenings. Following your screening, if you are eligible for testing you will be assigned a PUI number through the health department. You are eligible for testing only if you have appropriate symptoms.
8. If you have tested positive for Covid-19 (but not sick enough to require hospitalization), you should stay under house quarantine for 7 days OR 72 hours after your last fever, whichever is later. If you have not been tested but think you have been exposed, please do the same.
9. If you need to isolate yourself, do so only physically. Do not isolate yourself socially, emotionally and mentally. Stay in touch with your friends and family via phone and internet.
10. Let us check in on our elderly neighbors and loved ones – remotely if they need to be isolated for symptoms. Gather in small groups where you know the people and where all are committed to taking infection control precautions.
9. And continue to do what all medical professionals have been telling you to do since the day we heard about the virus. Wash your hands, wipe down frequently used surfaces, cough into your elbow or tissue and promptly discard (tissue, not elbow!).
10. Finally, as a person of Indian origin, I give carte blanche permission to culturally appropriate the heck out of “Namaste” instead of doing the handshake. For those of you not familiar with it, Namaste is the word associated with pressing your hands together with fingers pointing up.CoroNamaste to all!!