There is no “official news” today. We are waiting for updates and clarity on many issues that we all share (PPE, swab and testing criteria, system planning…there are many more). Watch this space – as the key stuff comes in, we will summarize it here and link it to the HFAM website.
Today’s offering is a link to a helpful New Yorker article written by Dr. Atul Gawande entitled “Keeping to Coronavirus from Infecting Healthcare Workers.” Here is an excerpt of the bottom line:
“The factors that appear to be important in protecting health-care workers from the disease (COVID-19) have been ensuring meticulous hand hygiene and cleaning; restricting clinics to necessary patient visits; shifting as much care as possible to virtual care channels; and applying standard droplet precautions for respiratory patients (mask, gloves, gown)
“Transmission seems to occur primarily through sustained exposure (less than 6 ft apart for greater than 15 minutes) in the absence of basic protection or through lack of hand hygiene.”
We offer this article with the hopes that it may put some people’s concerns in perspective. We are also 100% aware that the first priorities are clarity around screening and testing and a well-functioning system to ensure access to the PPE you need.