Doctors at The University of Kansas Health System are seeing what looks like a “pretty scary” trend in COVID-19 patient numbers. There are 18 patients being treated today for the virus, up from 14 yesterday. The number was down to 10 a week ago. Eight of those patients are in the ICU, up from 7 yesterday. Three remain on ventilators, same as yesterday. Doctors think we may now be seeing the first wave of patients exposed to COVID-19 over the Memorial Day Weekend.
This is the time of year many of us travel on vacation. The usual moderators of the morning briefing, Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System and Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at the health system are off today, both traveling. Dr. Hawkinson joined the program live from his Florida beach vacation house to talk about safe ways to travel this summer. Also joining moderator Jessica Lovell in the studio is Steve Lauer, MD, a pediatrician at The University of Kansas Health System, to talk about ways to keep your kids safe this summer.
Dr. Hawkinson said with summer travel comes more opportunities to spread COVID-19, and it’s vital we all keep observing the social responsibility policies we’ve been hearing about for months. He says when flying, just figure the virus is everywhere and take your own wipes and hand sanitizer. He says on the beach, it’s easy to keep social distancing, but the biggest places he’s concerned about are restaurants and bars, any place where people tend to gather. He doesn’t think public restrooms are a risk, and air hand blowers rather than paper towels should not be a problem since you will have just washed your hands with soap and water. He addressed how to stay safe in a hotel or vacation rental house. He also had advice for those have trips scheduled this fall or winter, especially out of the country. Overall, he says you need to weigh the risks to you and your family to the reward of traveling.
Dr. Lauer says traveling with small children can be a problem, depending on how you’re traveling and how long the journey will take. He says it’s almost impossible to get kids under two to wear a mask, and tough to keep kids of any age from touching their faces. He says if you’re going to a lake or a public pool, the water is no more a risk this year than last year…it’s the concentration of people that’s the risk. He says the biggest fear of pediatricians this year is that kids won’t get their usual physicals and vaccinations, which could lead to a resurgence of diseases like measles, polio and pertussis. He worries there’s a big risk to children if schools are not able to reopen in the fall, as many kids may have regressed by missing so much of this past school year. He also has concerns about youth baseball, and whether the players can stay socially distanced in the dugout and parents can do the same in the stands. He says parents must be vigilant that the league and coaches are doing it right because the pandemic is still there.
Friday, June 12 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Dr. Hawkinson will join the group again from his vacation in Florida to show what he’s doing to stay safe on the road. Also joining is Emergency Department physician Dave Lisbon along with Vibrant Health CEO Patrick Sallee to talk about the changes they’re seeing in patients seeking emergency care and care from safety net hospitals. Plus, they weigh-in on innovative tools and messages to help people assess their risk from C-19.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
The meeting is available by Zoom, both video and by phone. To join the Zoom Meeting by video, click https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
Telephone dial-in Participants:
For those without Zoom, call 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID: 782 897 8628.
The feed is also available via TVU grid. The TVU source is UoK_Health and is being made available to all.
Feel free to send questions in advance to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.
