Falcon
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There has been chatter that COVID-19 is no worse than influenza (seasonal flu) and speculation as to why such drastic measures are being taken to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

Port Lavaca Clinic Dr. Leigh Ann Falcon said one of the main reasons drastic measures are being taken is to keep the medical facilities from being overwhelmed.

She gave an example, which explains that Port Lavaca has approximately 13,000 residents, and if 30 percent get sick, that equates to almost 4,000 infected with COVID-19 when the data indicates that they estimate somewhere between 40 to 80 percent of the population will become infected.

“If we assume, we are lucky and only 10 percent of people need hospitalization instead of the 20 percent other regions are seeing, that’s still over 400 people,” Falcon said.

Memorial Medical Center has 25 hospital beds and a handful of ventilators, which could easily be overwhelmed.

“Other medical systems in Victoria and Houston and other cities are having the same type of scenario play out on a larger scale, therefore transferring patients may not be an option at some point. Hospitals will be filled. All ventilators will be used. If the medical system gets overwhelmed, people who could possibly recover from this illness may die as there may not be resources to take care of them. That is why this pandemic is being taken so seriously by public health professionals,” Falcon explained.

When Falcon broke down the differences between COVID-19 and seasonal flu, there was little to no comparison to the two.

http://www.portlavacawave.com/news/around_town/covid-19-is-not-like-the-seasonal-flu/article_b473cee2-7376-11ea-a5a9-1339a0de7863.html