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Alabama hospitals are about a week away from turning away cancer patients and others in need of care if the current rate of the COVID-19 spread continues, Jefferson County experts say.
“If we continue on the current path with more and more cases, we will have no choice,” said Dr Sarah Nafziger, co-chair of the UAB Emergency Management Committee at a conference. press Friday.
Hospitals in the Birmingham area face staffing shortages as the disease spreads among some employees, and ICU bed space nears capacity as the number of COVID-19 cases increases, a she declared.
UAB experts urge the public to practice social distancing by wearing masks and avoiding congregating indoors with people not from their immediate homes.
The county is seeing more than 300 new cases of COVID-19 a day, and health experts are very concerned about the spread during Thanksgiving.
“I think it’s important for all of us to reflect and rethink how we want to celebrate Thanksgiving this year,” said Dr. Mark Wilson, Jefferson County health manager.
Given the current rate of spread, if 10 people gather together, there is a one in five chance that someone could spread COVID-19, Wilson said. If 50 people gather, that chance increases to two-thirds, he said.
“Being together, inside, without a mask is a recipe for transmission.”
Despite expectations that COVID-19 would increase this winter, a peak before the holidays was not expected and is of great concern, said Dr Michael Saag of UAB.
“The rate of positive tests over the past few weeks has been staggering,” Saag said, adding that the current spike could be made worse by another spike in cases where families don’t socially walk away on Thanksgiving. “I’m a little overwhelmed, to be honest with you, on what this is going to look like.”
Saag recommends small gatherings outside or with masks inside. People who gather inside should go their separate ways to eat.
“We don’t know who is infected and who is not,” he said.
Saag says recent tests on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines are cause for great hope that by Thanksgiving next year, the virus will be defeated. But he said his colleagues at the hospital were exhausted. He called on the Alabamians to approach the coming year as a war effort.
“We are currently on duty,” he said. “It’s a group of brothers and sisters. These are people who fight together in the trenches against a common enemy. He added that survival means, “We are all doing our part to minimize crowds of more than 5-10 people.”
Dr Wilson said the health department will continue to work with companies and individuals who violate social distancing protocols, but they are determined to enforce the Safer at Home Order statewide and are ready to call. the police to do so.
“The rules haven’t changed. We still know that wearing a mask, social distancing and hand sanitation and avoiding those large gatherings that are not your own homes are still the most effective ways to stop this virus from spreading, ”said Dr Wilson.
Schools in Jefferson County will continue to remain open as there has been little evidence of spread in the classroom, according to Wilson. He said schools would close on a case-by-case basis based on understaffing as teachers go into quarantine.
The first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine supplies are expected early next month in Jefferson County and will be assigned to first responders.
“We don’t know how many vaccines we will get initially, but it will be a very limited supply,” Wilson said. He hopes the general public will have access to the vaccine by the summer.
Dr Nafziger says hospitals in the county face the same challenges of shrinking staff and bed capacity in the days and weeks to come.
She encouraged Alabamians to go to emergency care clinics rather than emergency rooms for non-emergencies and to continue to remain vigilant against COVID-19.
“Thank you for helping us. Don’t abandon us. We are tired, but we are not going to stop you, ”Nafziger said. “Please do your part so that we can be available to assist you.”
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