1/Notes from the #COVID19 plateau:
2/In #Washington the total number of #COVID19 cases is down from the peak but not very far. In the hospital, it feels steady. Plenty of capacity for more if we need it. Thankfully, public health efforts and clinical surge planning prevented us from running out of beds.
3/I knew we were likely to have a long course, but I didn’t expect it to be this tiring. It feels like treading water. The surge wasn’t as big here, so the current levels don’t seem like a relief.
4/From the inpatient side, some of that feeling comes from the long hospitalizations for #COVID19. Every week, it’s the same people on the list, the same families to update, the slow process of waiting for things to change—hopefully for the better.
6/Nearly all of patients I cared for last month in the ICU who were on mechanical ventilation are either still admitted or deceased.
7/There are also new admissions. I haven’t noticed a distinct “second wave” of people whose other illnesses caught up with them after six weeks of delay. It’s a mix: #COVID19 in people who tried to self-isolate but couldn’t, exacerbations of chronic conditions, sometimes both.
8/Perhaps the lack visible waves is because #coronavirus has been introduced to different subgroups at different times. For instance, in #Seattle, people experiencing #homelessness seemed spared early on, but recently they've been increasingly affected.
9/With plateauing numbers, I don’t feel good hearing about moves to #reopen the city or state. I’m afraid of the potential for a second surge that starts not from zero but from already having hundreds of new cases every day.
10/The list of those I know with #COVID19 keeps growing. It's a recurring reminder that life won't be “normal” for a long time. I continue to be at risk and a risk to others. If I do get infected, it would be a roll of the dice with my life and @DrSnowInBus.
