COVID FACTS
There are a lot of myths surrounding COVID. While our knowledge is changing day by day (and sometimes hour by hour) here are six facts on COVID.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially before/after eating, going to the bathroom or preparing food. Avoid touching your face. Cough in the angle of your arm or a tissue (and throw the tissue in the trash). Avoid unnecessary trips in public and any area where more than 50 people gather. Practice social distancing and stay at least 6 feet away from other people.
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Testing for the San Antonio area will soon be available. Click here to learn more. |
People who are older (>65) and have chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure or cancer are at increased risk. Less than 1% of people <50 years old have died, 5% for those 50-70yo. This number jumps to about 20% for those greater than 70.
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Without containment of the virus, hospitals will become overwhelmed. As of March 11th, 1,028 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 were in ICUs in northern Italy, saturating nearly all ICU beds. The capacity of ICUs is limited, in every country. Once capacity is reached, the number of acutely ill patients becomes a health catastrophe, because new patients cannot be properly treated; doctors may have to decide who gets into ICUs.
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It helps. Quarantine reduces the speed at which the epidemic spreads, in order not to saturate the capabilities of the medical system and more importantly ICU beds.
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Limited testing only postpones recognition of the problem. Only through testing and implementing quarantine measure for those who test positive can we delay the speed of the epidemic so that it becomes manageable.
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