Is COVID-19’s resurgence a preview of a deadly fall?
Key Takeaways
For physicians at the forefront of the COVID-19 response, this week likely represented a major step backward as several states broke daily new case records, governors were forced to backpedal on their reopening strategies, coronavirus tests were scarce, and hospitals neared capacity.
Here on the East Coast watching the resurgence of the virus in other parts of the country, it feels like deja vu. New York and New Jersey-based physicians are likely having flashbacks to the early, ugly days of the pandemic. Will the pandemic continue to rage on a state-by-state basis, or are we seeing the beginnings of a nationwide resurgence? Or, in today’s hyper-connected society in which people are outright ignoring social distancing regulations, is there even a difference now?
More on this later. Here’s what you might have missed from the news this weekend.
Weekend headlines
Amid a phalanx of masked Secret Service agents and other military officials, President Trump wore a mask publicly for the first time on Saturday as he toured Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the New York Times reports. Trump recently suggested that he would be willing to wear a mask in a hospital setting. According to the Times, governors on both sides of the aisle, as well as Vice President Pence, have become advocates for masks as COVID-19 cases spike across the U.S. More on the significance of Trump’s decision later in this post.
Louisiana has issued a statewide mask mandate and shuttered all bars, with the exception of those that offer takeaway services, the Hill reports. In South Carolina, a local NBC affiliate reports the state’s first pediatric death from the virus -- a child under the age of 5. South Carolina also broke a record for the most new cases in a day on Saturday, according to New York Times data. Oregon, North Carolina, Hawaii, Arkansas, and Alaska also saw single-day highs.
As cases spike, local leaders are finding themselves at odds with state officials. CNN reports on the trend. In Georgia, for example, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has decided to roll back the city to Phase 1 of the reopening strategy. Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Kemp said the move was “merely guidance -- both non-binding and legally unenforceable” and that no local decisions can be more or less restrictive than that which has been ordered at the state level.
CNBC reports on recent comments made by Bill Gates during a remote International AIDS Society conference. Gates said that COVID-19 vaccines and medications should be distributed according to need, not simply to the highest bidder. “If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder, instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, we’ll have a longer, more unjust deadlier pandemic,” he said.
Remember this?
Reporting this made some of us cringe -- that a Harvard study showed we may have to social distance intermittently until 2022 -- but now seems like a good time to recall attention to it. Seems more likely right now after the resurgence, doesn’t it?
The thinking at the time was that one-and-done social distancing doesn’t leave enough time for herd immunity to develop, nor does it cover the time required to develop an effective vaccine. Well, now we have proof of the efficacy of one-and-done social distancing. All we have to do is look to all of the aforementioned states in this post that rushed to re-open. Like it or not, social distancing likely is here to stay and to be deployed on an as-needed basis.
Another portion of this lived experiment is what happened and is happening in the Northeast, where, for the time being, the virus appears to be under control. Will we see flare ups on par with the rest of the country, or did we social distance sufficiently? Or, will none of this matter as people enjoy their summers as they would outside of a pandemic?
Complicating this is President Trump’s drive to re-open schools. Under normal circumstances, many would be welcoming students in a number of weeks. Though children don’t appear to be at as great a risk to the virus as adults, any teacher will tell you that kids excel at spreading all manner of infections. Will opening schools be the equivalent of coughing into an AC return?
The takeaway: How might physicians prepare themselves for a more widespread resurgence of the virus?
The ‘Lone Ranger’ vs. COVID-19
President Trump wore a mask for the first time publicly on Saturday, the New York Times reports. Why now? Trump was visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. His reasoning for masking up, in his own words:
“I think when you’re in a hospital, especially in that particular setting where you’re talking to a lot of soldiers and people that in some cases just got off the operating tables. I think it’s a great thing to wear a mask. I’ve never been against masks, but I do believe they have a time and a place.”
This is a reasonable, responsible, ethical thing to do -- and it’s something healthcare professionals have done all along. Trump’s decision to wear a mask is also a positive step in public health leadership. Perhaps more Americans, especially those in hard-hit states, will be inclined to do it too. Widespread masking will save lives and ease the strain on hospitals and, consequently, physicians.