The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System is slightly lower today. 33 patients are being treated for the virus, down from 35 yesterday. 17 of those patients are in the ICU, up one from yesterday. Six patients are on ventilators, same as yesterday. New COVID-19 patients continue to be admitted while recovered patients are discharged.
Allen Greiner, MD, Medical Officer for the Unified Government Public Health Department teams up with his Deputy Medical Officer, Erin Corriveau, MD to talk about the recommendations they are making to public schools to keep everyone safe while learning. She believes about half of all students in Wyandotte County will be in classrooms when schools open and Dr. Greiner thinks students of all ages should wear masks.
Dr. Corriveau reports her office has been working closely with school superintendents and thinks schools in Wyandotte County will open with about 50 percent of the students in classrooms, the others learning from home. When classrooms open, she says social distancing, mask wearing, and constant hand sanitizing will be vital. Teachers will have to make it part of the regular class routine and will have to get used to teaching while wearing a mask. She says there’s been a shift in the numbers of COVID-19 cases to the county’s Latino population from the African American population and talked about reasons for that.
Dr. Greiner says Wyandotte County has gone through a rough month with COVID-19 cases, but he’s encouraged by fewer deaths in the last 4-5 weeks. He believes mask wearing has made a difference. His office is recommending to all school districts in the county that masks be required for everyone at school. He thinks it’s best to have kids in one class with one teacher to help keep the virus from spreading. He says we have to get used to the new normal that we’re going to be mask wearers. That, he says, will get us through until a vaccine is ready.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, thinks teachers should consider eye protection in addition to their masks. He also discussed the trend that seems to show children 10 and under are less likely to spread the virus and whether that should be a factor in school decisions. He says school safety starts with the adults. Keeping the teachers and staff safe will also keep the students safe. He thinks things like fans and air purifiers “won’t save the day” in the classroom, only proper infection control measures will.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, doesn’t believe schools should test everyone, like they will be doing at The University of Kansas. He says the situation at KU is different with the mass migration of students coming from around the country. He also says every time he hears, “This is just the flu,” he wants to scream. He reminded us this is definitely not the flu. He explained that doctors don’t take political sides, but always go with the science when trying to educate the public. Fear, he says, leads to bad choices. He says the rules of infection control go wherever you go, since the virus also goes wherever you go. He stressed that masks are not harmful, they save lives.
Friday, July 24 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Dr. Jed Gorlin, Medical Director, Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City will talk about their stance on testing blood for COVID-19 and/or antibodies. Also, we get a lot of unanswered questions throughout the week. Doctors Stites and Hawkinson give answers and remind us of the pillars of infection prevention and control.
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.
