Hi my friend!
I think everyone is going through the “stages of quarantine” right now. There are stages of realization of the importance of physical distancing that everyone will go through. It is my hope that my information served to help you be an early adopter and that you are doing your absolute best to limit contact with anyone except your immediate pod (and advocating for others to do the same). There are also stages of responses to this whole situation and those will feel fairly up and down. It’s okay to have good days and bad days. Just not okay to stay in the blah. : )
Reminder that our online office hours are every Wednesday at 1pm. Join us and bring your questions! Kevin Malarkey, our licensed family counselor, will be joining us this Wednesday to talk about our emotional health and coping during this time. You can click here if you need the link.
Some FAQ’s that I wanted to cover now:
I want to help care for someone who is at high risk. What can I do to protect them?
Very good question! The most important thing is to limit the number of people you are exposed to. So if you are caring for a high risk individual, you should not be around many other people at all and the people you’re around shouldn’t be around a lot of people. (So basically if you are an essential worker or live with an essential worker, you may not be the ideal caregiver) Some tips: go to the grocery very infrequently, use drive up pick up services and/or delivery, consider using a mask, in general don’t let them touch your stuff and try not to touch their stuff as much as possible. No hand to hand touching. Do as much at a distance as possible. Wash your hands when you arrive and frequently.
Not knowing is so hard. How do I deal with that?
Well in the tough love category, the not knowing is not new. We have never known what the future holds. We have never been in control. All of our efforts to fool ourselves into thinking so were false before. This is an opportunity to work on taking wise decisive preventive action to the best of your ability and release the rest to faith. That is the only way to see the lessons in this, gain a sense of calm and enjoy your life.
When do I think this will be over?
Good question! What I do know is that this is not something that is going to be over and we snap back to the “way things were.” This is a time that everyone’s life needs to adapt and change and we will take many of those adaptations forward to a new normal - a normal that can actually be better! The estimated peek is mid-May, but is changing depending on how well we respond to physical distancing recommendations. The response will also depend on the amount of testing we get access to. The more testing we have the more we can target the isolations. Once the peak subsides, we will gradually unravel the limitations. There is also a possibility that if another peak develops, we may need to reinstate stay at home.
I wonder if I already had it. How will I know?
We know that first cases in China were late December and the first people from China into the US (and Ohio) were early January. At that point quarantines were expected, but it is possible that there has been spread since January. They are working on a blood test that shows some level of immunity and that will be a great addition to our tools. Do keep in mind though that multiple strains can continue to develop and there has been evidence of reinfection in some, so we can’t assume complete protection.
Is there a testing update?
Testing is still limited to hospitalized individuals, high risk individuals with significant symptoms and healthcare workers. Assume you have the virus and act accordingly (isolation, self care per my previous posts). Contact me if you have any questions!
What’s the deal with hydroxychoroquine and azithromycin as a treatment for COVID19?
There was a very small study out of France that showed improvement with these two medications and studies are currently underway. Those with severe symptoms are eligible to take these medications even before they are FDA approved. These medicines aren’t without risk though. When used together there is a risk of dangerous heart rhythm disturbances, so they must be used carefully.
PS—If you are feeling like you want to help in some way and not sure what to do, check out these t-shirts. We designed them to inspire you and THANK YOU for all you are doing to keep your community and yourself healthy!
