Doctors at The University of Kansas Health System say there have been no new cases of COVID-19 in the hospital in a few days…more of a hint that the curve is flattening. The number of inpatients remains at 33, with only nine of those in the ICU. The rest are in a regular medical unit, apart from other patients. 20 patients are waiting test results.

 Doctors still remind everyone that both Easter and Passover will look very different this year. Even though we’re already seeing a bend in the curve, they say with any gathering of 50 people, five of those most likely have the virus, even without showing any symptoms. They say that’s how the virus spreads. Sheltering at home and good hand hygiene is vital to stopping COVID-19.

• Steve Stites, MD, Chief Medical Officer at the health system, said more testing is coming, which should help in giving a better picture of where the COVID-19 battle stands. He says the daily release of numbers is important and addresses the question of whether demographic information should be included in those daily numbers. He also talks about what it will be like living in a post-COVID world.
• Dana Hawkinson, MD, Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control, addresses the question of whether getting COVID-19 will give a person immunity from the disease. He also says it’s important to note that there are currently no FDA approved drugs to treat COVID-19, despite news reports that certain drugs used for other conditions could help.
• David Lisbon, MD, emergency department physician, wants the public to know they are ready 24/7 to handle any emergency, including sexual assault cases. Area law enforcement agencies think there may be a rise in the number of those assaults due to the stay-at-home orders in effect around the region. He also talks about the various physical changes the emergency department has made to handle patients suspected of having COVID-19, including changing part of the ambulance bay into a special triage area for those patients.

Friday, April 10, at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call with media. U.S. Senator Jerry Moran from Kansas will join by phone to talk about the economic health of the country. Plus, it’s Good Friday and we’ve a special story involving children of one of our nurses. You’re going to want to watch and hear the special message they have for you. The feed is now available via TVU grid. The TVU source is UoK_Health and is being made available to all. You will still need to call-in to ask questions.

Telephone dial-in Participants:

Dial: 1-913-588-2222, and enter 50041981# when prompted for the Call ID. Feel free to send questions in advance to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.