(An edited version was published in the September-October 2020 edition of the Goodman Community Center Eastside News, Madison, Wisconsin)
Early on a recent morning I awoke to groans of misery from my wife. By sunrise she was isolating in her home office with many of the worrisome symptoms - aches, fever, and fatigue. Soon we were at the Alliant Energy Center for Covid-19 testing, where a National Guard member vigorously swabbed our noses. Within 24 hours the tests came back negative, and in a few days my wife was recovering from what was apparently a nasty stomach bug. Covid-19 is on everyone's mind whether they're healthy or sick, and healthcare workers are often on the front lines.
Mark Norton, a firefighter paramedic at Station 3 on Williamson Street, sees about nine patients a day, and a couple have symptoms that could be due to Covid-19. In those cases, he wears additional personal protective equipment (PPE): an N95 mask, face shield, and gown. He notes attitudes in patients ranging from little worry to fear of stigma and apprehension about going to the hospital. Likewise, in the firehouse itself some are more concerned than others, but he says everyone follows the protocols regardless of their personal views.
Kim Kantor is an urgent care pediatrician at the UWHealth Union Corners clinic. "It's hard. It's frustrating," she says of Covid-19."I don't like entering the exam room looking like a scary space alien in full PPE. Sometimes, that's how I announce it, and it's fun for the kids. It's admirable how well the kids behave in the clinic. Often three-year-olds, and sometimes even two-year-olds, are able to wear masks." She sees 7-10 patients in a 4-5 hour shift and orders Covid-19 tests for over half of them. To save on PPE and reduce the number of contacts with a patient, she tries to start with a phone call into the exam room. Before Covid-19 in the midst of the flu season, "I saw tons of kids. The waiting room was full and there could be a two hour wait." With the lockdown the clinic emptied, and she'd only see a couple of people per shift. Then kids returned to day care and camp and are getting sick. Also, because of Covid-19 precautions, primary providers often refer patients to urgent care, so now it's very busy.
Another provider at an East Side urgent care clinic who wished to remain anonymous noted that, like many sectors of the economy, health care is suffering from reduced revenue. With an eye on the bottom line and uncertain supply chains, administrators are sometimes allowing staffing levels to fall and restricting PPE. The provider already sees young adult patients with Covid-19 symptoms who may have been socializing without adequate precautions and says, "If UW opens without good mask use and social distancing, it's going to be a hell of a bad Fall."
In neighborhoods around the GCC, about a quarter of residents have been tested with two percent of tests positive, compared to three percent for Dane County, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. In Dane County, 37 people have died of Covid-19 as of July 31st. Covid-19 has killed over 150,000 in the US and more than 600,000 world-wide according to the World Health Organization. To reduce the spread of Covid-19, Public Health Madison and Dane County recommends staying home when sick, washing hands, not touching your face with unwashed hands, wearing a mask in public, and limiting social contacts (https://publichealthmdc.com/coronavirus).
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