Physicians: COVID-19 hasn't gone away

Moultrie Observer - 5/10/2023

May 9—MOULTRIE — Medical officials warn local residents that "Covid-19 hasn't gone away," as a global organization declares May 11 the end of the public health emergency.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) COVID-19 pandemic committee announced the emergency termination Friday.

"The WHO Director-General [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus] concurs with the advice offered by the Committee regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He determines that COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)," the WHO committee's statement said.

But, COVID-19 has not gone away, Dr. Chris Rustin told members of the GeorgiaBoard of Public Health recently. Rustin, the state Department of Public Health's deputy commissioner, was quoted in a Tuesday article from Capitol Beat News Service.

"That does not mean COVID-19 is over," Rustin told the board members. "While cases are down sharply, we still see ... 10 to 30 deaths per week in Georgia, mostly in the elderly and immunocompromised."

Colquitt Regional Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Michael D. Brown said that statement lines up with what local physicians are seeing.

"We certainly are seeing fewer cases than we were seeing the time when the pandemic was most severe back in 2020 and 2021. Fortunately, a vast majority of the cases that we've seen over the last year have not been nearly as severe as the ones that we were seeing back during the pandemic time period," Brown said by phone Thursday.

Although case numbers are increasing, the coronavirus still has the potential to cause serious infections. Brown said most Colquitt Regional patients incoming with COVID infections have mild to moderate infections.

Colquitt County has had only two COVID-19-related deaths from January to April this year, Dr. Charles Ruis, the director of the Southwest Health District, said by phone Tuesday. In the same time frame in 2022 there were 35 COVID-19 deaths here.

Colquitt Regional physicians will continue conducting tests for the illness in patients who demonstrate symptoms that can indicate a COVID-19 infection, just as they test for influenza in patients who have flu-like symptoms.

"If we have somebody who we suspect of having a COVID infection, then we are wearing masks, and we are taking precautionary methods. But we do it just as we would do for influenza as well," Brown explained.

A major change following the ending of the public health emergency is in data collection. Colquitt Regional Medical Center is working in conjunction with the Southwest Health District to track community health statistics to monitor the case's frequencies. Ruis said the Southwest Health District's data will focus more on the number of hospital admissions and deaths instead of the number of new cases.

Brown advised residents to take precautions if they experience respiratory symptoms.

"Patients who have respiratory symptoms should still avoid being in public and should still wear masks if they're forced to be in a situation where they're in public. If it's certain circumstances of having fever, cough or other sort of viral symptoms, just be mindful that you may have something that was contagious. Under those situations, whether it's influenza, COVID, or another viral infection, it is good to continue social distancing, mask-wearing, and frequent washing of hands under those circumstances," he said.

Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, told Capitol Beat Tuesday that COVID-19 tests and vaccines will continue to be offered for free in Georgia despite the ending of the federal public health emergency later this week.

The Southwest Health District will continue to provide COVID-19 tests and vaccines at no out-of-pocket cost after the federal government following the emergency termination, Ruis said. Individuals with medical insurance coverage, their insurance will be billed.

COVID-19 vaccine and testing appointments can be scheduled by calling your local health department. In many cases, same-day appointments can be made. The Test&Go COVID-19 PCR Testing Kiosk is available 24/7 at the Dougherty County Health Department. Additional information regarding COVID-19 vaccines and testing can be found on our website at: http://www.swhealthdistrict.org.

___

Visit The Moultrie Observer (Moultrie, Ga.) at www.moultrieobserver.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.