What should you do to stay safe as Texas reopens? Here’s what Fort Worth doctors say
As Texas eyes reopening the economy, Fort Worth physicians say they’re telling patients concerned about the novel coronavirus to stay home and exercise common sense.
Texas has lagged behind other states in testing for coronavirus, making it hard for health professionals to know the extent of the virus’ reach. Patients worried about their symptoms or the symptoms of a loved one have phoned their primary care doctor at a high rate, according to a sample of physicians who spoke to the Star-Telegram. Regardless, the physicians said they’re telling patients to stay away from others.
Social distance measures have worked to flatten the spread of the virus, said Dr. David Fleeger, president of the Texas Medical Association and an Austin-based colorectal surgeon. Hospitals are no longer expecting a massive surge of COVID-19 patients and the state has an abundance of open hospital beds, he said.
Officials may feel comfortable reopening sectors of the economy, but Fleeger stressed this should be done slowly in “baby steps.” People should still practice social distancing. Proper hand washing will continue to be important and wearing masks will reduce the risk.
“It would have to get many magnitudes worse before we start having significant problems,” he said. “We still need to follow the science.”
The number of positive cases in Texas is likely to continue to climb as testing becomes more available, but that doesn’t indicate the disease is spreading, Fleeger said.
During the early stages of the outbreak in the United States, researchers speculated that for every confirmed case, there was likely five to 10 others in the community with COVID-19, according to the New York Times. Dr. Vinny Taneja, Tarrant County Public Health director, earlier this month estimated the county likely had 40% more cases than reported.
That’s why doctors are telling patients who feel unwell to behave as if they have the virus even if they haven’t been tested.
Dr. Stuart Pickell, who has a small office at the edge of Fort Worth’s medical district on Jerome Street, said he’s had at least 20 patients inquire about coronavirus testing, including a married couple. When one of them tested positive Pickell didn’t have the other tested when they also developed symptoms.
He cautioned that anyone who feels sick should stay away from others for at least 14 days and continue to social distance afterward.
Two of Pickell’s patients —a 79-year-old and a 94-year-old, both with chronic health conditions — have died from complications related to COVID-19. Other patients have tested positive and made full recoveries, he said.
“I think what we need to do is use common sense about how we go about our daily business,” he said. “It’s an experiment in progress.”
Dr. Greg Phillips, another medical district doctor, had at least one married couple contract the virus at the same time. It’s extremely likely that once one person becomes sick, the entire household will catch the virus, he said.
That’s important to remember as society moves toward reopening, Phillips said, noting that social distancing should continue even if bars, restaurants and stores reopen.
“Taking another week or two —and be slow — would be the prudent thing to do,” he said. “Those people who say ‘I don’t care what the rules are, I’m going to do what I want’ put the whole community at risk.”
Phillips said he was particularly concerned about bars reopening, noting that people tend to draw closer to each other as they drink and alcohol breaks down the body’s defenses.
Dr. Amber Lesley, who has a practice on Eighth Avenue, said almost every patient she has talked to since March has asked about their symptoms or the symptoms of someone they know, she said. Many people who suspected they had the flu in February are following up, wondering if they had the novel coronavirus but didn’t know it.
Those patients are inquiring about coronavirus antibody tests, which may indicate whether a person has been infected, she said. Her medical group, Privia Health, recently started providing the tests, but Lesley said she is not overly confident in them. Not much is known about this strain of coronavirus or the antibodies it leaves behind. Some research has suggested that the presence of antibodies may indicate a person is immune, but Lesley said not enough data exists to know if that is true or if the person can still infect others.
The lack of information makes Lesley cautious about reopening society.
“You don’t want to let your foot off the gas as far as that’s concerned because there could be a resurgence, especially in the fall when flu season starts,” she said. “This is just a crazy time to practice medicine, because we don’t have the data we would normally use to counsel patients about what they should do.”
