Seeing the skyrocketing numbers of COVID-19 cases can make any of us uneasy, or return to the feeling in late March when the pandemic’s reach became clear and forced us into staying at home.
Medical officials and leaders are watching trends closer than anyone else, and are out ahead of the virus, exactly where they need to be to respond.
Dr. Scott Brady, Senior Vice President of AdventHealth Ambulatory Systems said, “As we’ve gone out of our houses and not social distancing and using masks as much as we were used to, we’re seeing an increase,” he said.
If a significant number of people need hospital-based care, Brady said AdventHealth stands ready.
“In the last two months we’ve improved our response and we’re ready if there’s another wave coming,” he said. “We have hundreds of ventilators and ICU beds. Those coming in with COVID aren’t as sick as they were months ago and are going to more progressive care and general hospital beds.”
People must act responsibly and individually to help level off this recent increase in virus cases. If they do individually, overall numbers in communities will take care of themselves. And it’s not difficult things — it’s the same things we’ve been doing or encouraged to do for going on three months now.
“The community can do things. Staying six feet away and hand washing are the best things, but wearing masks is the No.1 thing you can do. They help reduce of transmission of breathing droplets. It’s the most loving thing you can do for your community.”
Those who are about to give birth or did recently have a lot on their minds as well trying to begin new life on the right foot, but as Dr. Rachel Humphrey, medical director of AdventHealth for Women’s maternal-fetal medicine program, the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission to infants is very low, and that new moms are at no greater risk than the rest of the population when it comes to infection with coronavirus, unlike past health outbreaks like Zika and H1N1 flu.
Expectant moms are encouraged to continue to deliver their babies in a hospital setting versus at home, because of the safety. At AdventHealth, extra precautions and enhanced safety measures are in place to keep babies and mothers safe. Expectant and new moms are at the same level of risk of COVID-19 as everyone else and should continue to follow social distancing, hand washing and masking guidelines. At a less than 1 percent risk, COVID-19 is hard to transmit to infants.
