Southern California Hospitals are preparing an “ethical protocol” to deal with the overwhelming number of COVID patients and lack of resources. Unfortunately, Southern California is a COVID hotspot right now. Read about California’s ethical protocol by clicking here
While hospitals have yet to implement crisis-level care rationing, the steady increase of 40,000 new COVID-19 cases a day continues to threaten hospital capacity. Space and staff are stretched, particularly in Southern California, as the state endures a surge 4 to 5 times the size of the spike in summer.
Arizona is averaging almost 8,000 new cases per day, and little yet highly populated Rhode Island is averaging over 1,000 daily cases. The below link will take you to the Mayo clinic’s COVID-19 map, and you view each states data. https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/map
Here is another way to view the cases of Covid in each state, from the COVID tracking project:
The vaccine rollout is taking longer than anticipated and all of this is leading people to a little thing called COVID fatigue. UC Davis wrote a very informative article about COVID Fatigue – Read UC Davis’s article about covid fatigue here and learn more. One part of the article states, “Abnormal is the new normal.” I feel like we can all relate to that.
With that we want to provide you with some basic reminders on keeping yourself safe from COVID, courtesy of the CDC.
The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. Learn how COVID-19 spreads and practice these actions to help prevent the spread of this illness.
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, everyone should:
*Clean your hands often, either with soap and water for 20 seconds or a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
*Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
*Put distance between yourself and other people (at least 6 feet).
*Avoid indoor spaces that do not offer fresh air from the outdoors as much as possible. If indoors, bring in fresh air by opening windows and doors, if possible.
*Cover your mouth and nose with a mask when around others.
*Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
*Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces daily.
*CDC recommends that people wear masks in public settings and when around people outside of their household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
*Masks may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others.
It is so important for you to take care of yourself, both mentally and physically during this pandemic. If you are feeling unwell, please reach out for help. There are many resources available to you. If you feel like you don’t have anywhere to turn and are in crisis, call 9-1-1 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Available 24 hours a day. Learn more 800-273-8255
Ms. Jenn Landers | Patient Advocate Alliance LLC Edited by Dr. Justin Groode