Doctors’ orders: ‘Get tested often, don’t travel for Thanksgiving’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - One lesson the world has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic: nothing is certain and a lot can change at an instant.

Doctors are asking the public to stay within their ‘bubble’ as testing demand and positivity rates continue to climb.

“Someone has to win and someone has to lose,” Doctor Chuck Anderson, Baptist Health Medical Director said. “That’s the scary part of all of this.”

Anderson reminds the public COVID-19 case numbers are real, the deaths are real and the disease is real.

“This weekend, we’ve had a couple calls asking, 'what happens if this keeps going? What’s Plan A, Plan B, Plan C? What happens if we do Plan A, what’s the next step?”

All three local hospital systems, Baptist Health Louisville, UofL Health and Norton Health Care doctors are seeing an much larger demand for testing; and results are showing positivity rates are climbing with those high testing numbers.

“That’s the whole thing about this, you have this asymptomatic carrier at that time that you’re out with everyone, and you think you’re OK and some of the testing just gives you a false sense of security,” Anderson said.

Hospitals are managing patients and beds, with machines still open. They’re counting on the public to keep it that way.

UofL Associate Chief Medical Officer, doctor and emergency medical physician Hugh Shoff says; take doctor’s orders and don’t make any risky plans to travel to see family for Thanksgiving.

“What we don’t want to see next year large family gatherings and some people not be there because couple people got sick and aren’t around for that Thanksgiving.”

Doctors say the proof is in the pudding, or this case, the science and case numbers.

If safety continues to be a priority, Norton Health Chief Administrative Officer and Cancer Institute Physician-in-Chief Doctor Joseph Flynn says that’ll take us to the right path towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

“I promise, there will be an end to it, there will be,” Flynn said. “This is just not our time to let down our guard, we just have to redouble our efforts.”

Local health care leaders ask families to make sure they keep a close on eyes the people in your ‘bubble’ make sure to get tested as often as possible and quarantine after getting tested.

Click here for testing locations with Norton Healthcare Medical Group.

Click here for testing locations with UofL Health.

Click here for testing locations with Baptist Health Louisville.

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