Proper social distancing will save lives, experts say
TAMPA, Fla. - For the next eight weeks, the CDC recommends any gatherings with more than 50 people be canceled or postponed, and for the rest of the month, the White House says you should only be in groups of fewer than 10 people.
The world will look a bit different this week; empty streets, empty schools, and even iconic attractions are shut down.
Mass-cancelations, travel bans, and social distancing recommendations are extreme measures that officials say are proven to save lives. Pediatric infectious disease physician Dr. Juan Dumois explains it’s an effort called flattening the curve.
“For a virus like the one that causes COVID-19, it’s so contagious that it’s relatively easy to spread so that a lot of people can get sick around the same time,” Dr. Dumois said.
A CDC graph shows how a virus like this can cause a huge spike in the number of people getting sick all at once. That sudden explosion of illnesses could overwhelm the U.S. health care system, meaning not enough hospital beds or mechanical ventilators for patients battling the coronavirus; something that’s already happening in Italy.
“Hospitals will run out of those machines and they start having to triage care, meaning deciding who gets to be put on a ventilator and who just gets to die of pneumonia,” said Dumois from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. “That’s happening right now, we’re trying to avoid that as much as possible.”
That’s where working from home and taking classes online comes in. It will slow down the spread of COVID-19 so new cases happen over the course of weeks and months, instead of all at once, eliminating, or flattening the spike in the pandemic curve.
“By asking people to perform social distancing, staying at home when they get sick, that flattens the curve because the sick people are spreading their virus to fewer other people,” Dumois said.
That also makes it easier for doctors and nurses to handle the number of people who get sick and possibly need hospital care.
“It is just a good idea so that this doesn’t get out of hand and that as people get sick we can continue to care for them as they need care,” said Dumois.
Experts say people who recover quickly and many who show no symptoms at all can still infect others with COVID-19. Officials are urging everyone to take the recommendations seriously and stay six feet from other people.
If you feel sick
The Florida Department of Health has opened a COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Agents will answer questions Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours.
LINK: Florida's COVID-19 website
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