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Can we ease restrictions in the COVID-19 battle? A local emergency room doctor on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight put it this way: “We have hit the brakes and our car has stopped right before the edge of the cliff… one wheel was over the edge.”
Speaking at a Snohomish County briefing with reporters via Zoom Friday, Providence Medical Center’s Dr. Matt Beecroft added, “It felt like it was going to turn into a major disaster; that we would run out of hospital beds and ventilators.” That did not happen, added Beecroft, because of the way local communities responded.
Progress in this battle often comes in small steps. One small step with a potential big impact: Homemade cloth protective face masks will soon be available, free, to anyone through local food banks.
Snohomish County announced it will coordinate with food banks to be drive-by pickup sites for the masks, as well as make the food banks drop-off’ sites for people to donate homemade masks. Dr. Beecroft said that takes the pressure off the supply of medical and surgical masks that hospitals and clinics need.
There are more small signs of cautious progress. Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said: “In a few more weeks, we may be able to start dialing back restrictions.” He was not specific on details.
Somers says the county will work with national and state experts to incorporate ideas that are working in other places, and added that lifting restrictions will come off in “layers,” not all at once.
“We cannot stop now, we have to hold the line,” Somers warned, adding that residents need to maintain strict social distancing, wear protective gear such as cloth masks, and limit travel for only essential purposes.
County Chief Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters added that this “is an all-society approach to respond to this pandemic.” He said that if citizens do not follow social distancing guidelines, the county will end up right back where it started.
“This is not a time to celebrate,” Spitters said, “but to humbly reflect on what we have achieved so far.”
The county now has 1,900-plus total cases. But those numbers are slowing day by day, and Spitters says the case numbers now reflect people who were exposed more than a week ago. More than 100 patients are now hospitalized in the county.
According to county data, 40-50 patients are hospitalized at Swedish Edmonds, another 40-50 at Providence Everett and five to 10 patients each at hospitals in Arlington and Monroe.
The federal government is pulling its support of the county’s only drive-through test site, in Everett. Staff had tested 2,000 people there. When asked why the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was withdrawing, Spitters said the FEMA was in Everett to handle the “short-term surge” as the virus erupted in the county. The agency helped test for three weeks, and “their commitment is done,” he added.
Spitters said that it will be up to state and local agencies if they want to keep some form of “drive-through” testing; but did not elaborate. There are indications, he added, that the number of people wanting tests is declining. Those who exhibit symptoms should call their doctor or local clinic, he added.
The bottom line from the briefing came from Somers: “We got ahead of the curve and it appears we are flattening the curve; but we cannot stop now, we must hold the line.”
— By Bob Throndsen
Actually said “… in a few more weeks.” At least that is what I intended to say.
We just dont know at this point but things are trending in the right direction.
Thanks for your clarification. We will update the story!
It is unfortunate that our officials maintain this stay home and social distancing mantra.
Dr. Wittkowski has compiled data from around the world and remarked that consequences of the virus in Sweden are comparable to those observed elsewhere, despite Sweden not imposing social distancing restrictions. He offers that by “flattening” the curve we are prolonging it.
We have learned that the virus can be readily treated with existing medication and if needed, oxygen; ventilators are not required.
It is true that flattening the curve probably prolongs it, but the goal is to make sure we dont overwhelm our health care system. That’s what happened in China, New York, Italy and other places. When you overwhelm your health care system, more people die.
Thank you for your reply and service to our county. While the concern of preserving the integrity of the health care system was a concern when we were still learning what we were dealing with, it need not dictate our future.
Evidence indicates that the vast majority who become infected do not require intervention by the health care system. Of those who do, based on studies released from China and France, a course of malaria medication coupled with a z-pack of azithromycin has been shown to be effective to shorten the duration of symptoms, lessening the impact on health care system. Severe cases have been resolved without the use of ventilators.
By preventing the public from being exposed, the sheltered public is at greater risk of contracting and spreading the virus after the stay home order is lifted.
Is Sweden’s lax approach to the coronavirus backfiring?
Washington Post, April 8
“Although much remains unknown, there is already enough data to suggest that this laissez-faire approach constitutes a dangerous gamble with human life. There are indications that Sweden is experiencing a higher death toll than its neighbors…
“… Sweden ranks among the lowest of 26 surveyed countries when it comes to fear of the coronavirus in a recent YouGov poll –– even though the country ranks fifth-highest in per capita deaths of the countries surveyed…”
– Paulina Neuding is the European editor at Quillette Magazine. Tino Sanandaji is an economist with a PhD in public policy from the University of Chicago.
The death rate per capita is a deceptive indicator when the entire population of Sweden has been allowed to be exposed, while other countries have sheltered their populations from exposure. I would expect a lower death rate per capita while we are sheltered.
Whether in a few weeks or next flu season, the rest of us will be exposed. When that time comes, Swedes will have natural immunity and we will be susceptible.
Then we can compare the health outcome of the populations and economies. I have a guess!
“Evidence may indicate” there are some treatments that may be effective, but evidence is not data or research or clinical trials, and there are well know harmful side effects of the treatment you suggest. It will be some time before we have documented treatments that can be safely applied broadly. From what I can garner, the evidence is only that some COVID patients were treated as you suggest and got better. This does not show the treatment was effective, only that they got better, which is true of almost 98% of people who contract the virus. You have to do controlled studies to determine if the treatment was any better than no treatment.
We do know somewhere upwards of 2% of the people who get the virus die from it, and many critically ill patients do need ventilators to assist them in breathing. To assert otherwise flies in the face of reality and the decisions being made by front line doctors every day.
On the whole, I prefer public authorities who err on the side of caution. Let’s avoid learning the hard way, especially where lives are at stake.
I guess that’s why I’m not a politician. We are in the midst of an unprecedented quarantine. There is data from the 70’s showing the correlation between rise in unemployment and increased death rate, yet a decision is being made to spare some 2% from death by COVID-19 while sentencing others to death by unemployment.
It is convenient to claim that we must remain on lockdown since there is no published study. This illness was first reported in December. There had been plenty of time to gather valid anecdotal evidence.
Our litigious culture has handcuffed doctors and health care facilities. I do not believe many doctors are making decisions, I believe they are following protocols. Protocols provide a legal defense to the facility and physician. Therefore, according to protocol, patients with low oxygen saturation get intubated and a ventilator. But doctors are now coming out saying that’s a death sentence!
Look at Boris Johnson who was treated with oxygen, not a ventilator. Yes, that’s a same size of 1. Does that mean we should throw it out and keep using protocols which have been proven to not be as effective against this illness?
And France’s study of 24 patients which showed 100% of those studied improved in under a week was a small sample. Does that mean we should throw it out?
Must we wait until next year when peer-reviewed studies are available? I hope not.
Interesting. Have you a medical degree? From what school? Where did you do your residency? Which areas have you satisfied the requirements for board certification? How many years of professional Infectious Disease practice do you have? I can guess the answers…
As an old guy with a minor heart condition (arrhythmia) and an asthma attack if I so much as look at someone with a cold or the flu, I think I’ll put my faith in what the doctors recommend as opposed to the politicians during this unusual health crisis. Doctors are generally interested in saving lives while many politicians are just interested in getting re-elected. We had a strong economy going into this thing and it will recover when it is time for it to recover. I left my investments in the market because I believe in the concept that it virtually always goes up in the long run; not so much in the concept that many of the self serving politicians in both parties have much of anything to do with it. I will say this crisis is doing a pretty good job of indicating who the good politicians are and those who aren’t so hot.