A COVID 19 Message From LEAD and USHLI

 Quédate En Casa / #JuntosSaldremosAdelante 

Staying indoors – it’s tough. We know. But it’s what we need to do right now. Stay Calm - Stay Home - Stay Safe - Save Lives!

1. The tsunami of COVID-19 is of global proportions yet scientists, health care professionals, and epidemiologists really don’t know much about it yet.  It is primarily a respiratory organ virus, it has symptoms very similar to other respiratory illnesses like the colds, flu, and pneumonia. And being new, we do not have any immunity to it – and thus it is much deadlier. Governments are still trying to get an accurate picture of who has been infected, and who might be actively infecting (i.e., unaware that they have been infected and are infectious).  This can only be done thru testing, and contact tracing.  But the genie is out of the bottle and the horse has escaped the barn.
2. It is highly infectious, and transmitted via micro droplets that an infected person expels when they talk, cough, or sneeze. It survives a reasonable amount of time on surfaces, longer on hard non-porous surfaces like glass and steel. Transmission is likely via high touch surfaces like doorknobs, railings, and grocery cart handles. It gets transferred from those high touch surfaces to our hands, and then to our face, when we touch our face, and enters our respiratory system (nose, sinuses, lungs) soon after, where it thrives and multiplies.
3. Those needing the most critical medical attention must be placed on a ventilator to provide them with oxygen rich air.  Once placed on a ventilator they may need to be on it for a week or more.  Hospital ventilator capacity is limited and thus reserved only for the most sick. Our health care systems are unprepared for the anticipated number of cases that will require hospitalizations and special equipment to help serious cases: masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders, fever clinics, isolation facilities, and ventilators.
4. The current mitigation measures include shutting down public venues, public transportation, conferences, schools and universities, sporting events, etc… which involve hundreds and thousands in attendance; and even places and businesses where people tend to gather, like restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. These mitigation measures slow the rate of infection and are not prevention measures in and of themselves. They do prevent individuals from being infected: as that can only be done by a vaccine - but that does not yet exist.
5. Avoid crossing paths with the virus.  Maintain physical social distance, to avoid coming in contact with airborne virus droplets emanating from an infectious person (because of inadequate testing capacity, infectious persons have not all been identified and isolated). Infected people may not be aware that they have been infected, and are now infecting those they come in contact with – i.e., asymptomatic individuals are carriers.  So conscientiously maintaining physical social distance is a key measure for avoidance/prevention.  This has to start with us, each of us. The only way to break this cycle is to avoid getting infected in the first place.
6. Avoid directly touching high contact/high touch surfaces; if you have it, wear gloves like the ones food service workers wear.  If you must, use those thin plastic produce bags or the like to prevent direct contact with high touch surfaces, and that are easily disposable. Dispose of them as soon when done; for example if you used a shopping cart for groceries, dispose of the gloves before you enter your car and touch the steering wheel, and other surfaces in the car. As you come from public spaces, avoid touching your face. Always wash your hands well as soon as your get home. Plus, leave your shoes at the door as the virus from those public spaces can adhere to shoes as well.

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