Patient being tested at the Cape Cod Healthcare drive-thru facility at Cape Cod Community College
ORLEANS – The Orleans Health Department hosted Dr. Anne Sigsbee for a televised presentation last week where she shared information on the COVID-19 pandemic, getting tested, and answered phoned in questions from residents.
Some of the tips that Sigsbee shared involved describing the exact nature of an infection, possible sources of them, and how the body deals with them usually.
She also shared warning on asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus that may be spreading it to other people without knowing, and how individuals should practice social distancing whether they are feeling ill or not.
According to Sigsbee, symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, malaise, coughing and other respiratory problems, and a shortness of breath.
Critical symptoms include damage to your lungs, which prevents your body from getting necessary oxygen, which can lead to difficulty rousing, confusion, and possibly death.
Not all cases of the infection become symptomatic disease, said Sigsbee.
Some may catch the disease only to get over it without developing ailments, or take a few days to develop symptoms, however they can still be spreaders of the disease to other individuals.
Sigsbee said that the majority of people with similar symptoms to COVID-19 test negative for the virus, and that residents should not make assumptions immediately if they or a loved one develops a cough, but rather carefully monitor themselves for further symptoms while maintaining social distance.
“The public health approach is you should assume that you, your neighbor, or your family harbors a subclinical, or asymptomatic, infection. That’s the best way to behave. Social distancing, the six feet, has been calculated on the way droplets can be conveyed in the air. The hand washing you understand, that makes sense. Not touching your face. Staying in your own household.”
Sigsbee said the best way to avoid spreading the disease is to remain home, whenever possible.
“In your own household, you don’t need to practice not touching people. You can be staying with your own DNA and your spouse, but you need to understand that you as a family are an entity, and that you may have coronavirus,” said Sigsbee.
Sigsbee warned that those who are developing symptoms should get assessed by a professional in a safe manner.
“If you have symptoms, cough, fever, shortness of breath, and you are concerned, call your primary care physician. The hospital is sending protocols to the desks of all their physicians. They will interview you over the phone, do not go to the office.”
The medical professional will decide if the caller is a candidate for testing, and will communicate the order to the testing center, who will call the individual with an appointment for testing.
Sigsbee warned that even those who test negative for the coronavirus should still maintain social distancing to minimize the spread of the disease as much as possible.
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