(Snippets from the frontline)
COVID-19: Hotspots
I am a scientist, but don’t have access to all Covid-19 data distributed to Public Health officials. Still, my experience as a doctor caring for older adults in hospitals, nursing homes, and congregate living facilities allows drawing conclusion from past observations.
As well as seeing “hotspots” of coronavirus amongst seniors, it is in prisons and meat packing plants.
My conclusions from observations is twofold:
- Older adults are not only more susceptible because of co-morbidities, but because they have limited mobility and less ability to physically expand targeted lungs;
- Those in prison and meat packing plants are obviously in closer proximity to each other getting a higher viral dose when someone coughs or sneezes.
Possible solutions:
- Public Health needs to focus on these institutes assuring appropriate PPEs, separation, distancing, and isolation;
- Daily testing (not just temperature screening) of anyone entering making sure even potential carriers are not contaminating the premises.
Every hospital, nursing home, senior living facility, prison, and meat packing plant is a “hotspot” of concentrated virus. There are other breeding grounds yet to be found. But testing is limited. The logical approach is to urgently focus on these areas.
Hit the “hotspots” and aggressively test!
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
Leave a Comment