It’s Time for All of Us to Do Our Part to Fight the Coronavirus
By Dr. Laura Korin
As a physician, I’m not an alarmist. Most physicians aren’t. By our training, we learn to check ourselves and remain calm in the face of a crisis.
But I’m here to sound the alarm, or rather, to join in with other physicians sounding the alarm about the coronavirus (COVID-19). First from Wuhan, then Italy, and more recently the U.S.
I am a primary care physician, the person you trust to guide you to better health and help you recover from illness, the shoulder to cry on, someone who cheers you on in your efforts to improve your life. I hope you will heed my words.
I am in contact with thousands of physicians across the country and the world. Our message is simple: stay home! We are not asking you to panic. We are asking you to take our warnings and instructions seriously and help us save your life and the life of others.
We are scared. We have learned how bad the situation can get from physicians in other countries, as well as heartbreaking accounts from my colleagues in the Seattle area, who are forced to make painful decisions.
In the United States, health professionals have little to no access to protective equipment and are beginning to fall ill. Physicians, other healthcare providers, first responders, janitorial staff, are literally risking their own lives while battling for yours and doing so without proper equipment. Stay home!
Also, I can’t believe I have to write this, but please stop stealing masks, hand sanitizers, gloves from your doctors’ offices or hospitals. I get it, you’re scared, but our supplies are severely limited and they won’t help you as much as they will us. Don’t you want us around to help you or your loved one if one of you is ill?
Also, don’t lie about your symptoms to get through the screening process because you want to be tested but your symptoms are mild and you were recommended to stay home. Now you’ve exposed everyone in your path, including the clinical staff trying to care for the critically ill, and you might not get tested anyway. There is a limited supply of test kits, and not everyone qualifies for testing.
Despite what you may have heard, not everyone can get the test, even if the doctor wants to test you. Hopefully, this will change soon. I’d love to test everyone, then we’d really get a sense of the impact here, but we can’t yet.
If you are sick, definitely stay home and contact a medical professional first to see if you need to be seen. Only go to the emergency room if you are having an emergency. Look at your local health department website for links and information about what to do if you get sick and how to prepare your home.
Other than that, please stop traveling, meeting up with friends, having parties or playdates, going to the gym, going to bars. I understand that your children may be frustrated by the realities of social distancing and interruptions of their normal activities. But the school closures will accomplish nothing if you continue with gatherings, small or large.
The symptoms of coronavirus take days to manifest themselves. Someone who comes over looking well can transmit the virus. It’s okay to take go outside for walks, runs, biking (and you should, it’s a great stress reliever), but maintain distance, ideally six feet between people outside your family.
Call your friends and check in with your older neighbors to see if they need something while you are (sparingly) going to the grocery store or pharmacy. Take care of each other, just don’t hang out with each other. Continue to cover your cough and wash your hands, but that alone is not enough. Stay home!
Early and aggressive social distancing can flatten the curve, not overwhelm our healthcare system and eventually may reduce the length and need for longer periods of extreme social distancing later, which is what has occurred in Italy and Wuhan. We all need to do our part during these times, no matter the difficulties. I hope one day you can tell us we overreacted, then that means we all did our part.
Many people are literally risking their own lives while fighting for yours. Please stay home. It is the absolute least you can do.
Laura Korin, MD, MPH, is a family physician and preventive medicine/public health physician who trained at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She practices at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. She was raised in Pleasantville and continues to have close ties to the village.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/