Ask the Rev. Doctor Maria: June 17, 2020
The Rev. Dr. Maria Evans is serving as the Interim Rector at Christ Church in Rolla. She is also a pathologist, board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, a laboratory medical director, and has served on hospital infection control committees for over 30 years.
During the coronavirus outbreak, The Rev. Dr. Maria is offering her expertise to help us understand and make our way through this unprecedented experience. If you have a question you'd like to ask The Rev. Dr. Maria, send an email to [email protected].
I don't understand why we are still taking all these precautions but the state has opened up. Where are we...REALLY...in the life of this pandemic?
I wish I had a crystal ball that could confidently give me an answer, but unfortunately, my crystal ball is as cloudy as everyone else's!
I can at least point you to a spot that will let you get an idea of how Missouri looks compared to other states in this epidemic.
At this moment, Missouri is getting a "B" grade on managing the epidemic, according to endcoronavirus.org. If you look at the graph of new cases in Missouri plotted day by day, we've plateaued to some degree on new cases; the problem is the plateau is too high. We're still having too many new cases.
Additionally, according to covidexitstrategy.org , we are only testing roughly 60% of our testing target even though we now have plenty of tests, which makes prognostication even more difficult. We need to be testing more of the asymptomatic population to get a better handle on our risk of community spread.
In short, we are testing more people than ever, but we are still behind on testing the number of people we need to make better decisions on the level at which communities should open.
What this means, is that we need to still be wearing masks in public, we should still be washing our hands, we should still be keeping 6 feet distance, and we should still choose our excursions wisely. The old WWII poster about gasoline shortages still holds true--"Is this trip really necessary?"
We're doing a really good job at holding steady--yet we still need to lower the daily number of new cases, and the best way to do this is through physical distancing and reducing spread of droplets.
I'm reminded of Proverbs 18:2--"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion."
Hard as it is, we need to continue to distance ourselves and look out for one another's safety. As things begin to open, we need to exercise moderation in our movements and use common sense precautions.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Dr. Maria Evans
who doubles as
Maria L. Evans, MD, FCAP, FASCP
Tags: News