04/08/2020
I am so disturbed by our elected politicians’ circus tricks and delayed actions. There is no leadership! There is a complete disconnect from the medical reality and the government’s delayed actions. The governor of AZ is making medical decisions for everyone right now! When did he go to medical school?
I call the health department multiple times a day for various questions and get the same very vague answers. They defer everything back to me the treating physician. No guidance. No help! So, I found a resource where I can text physicians in China and other countries to get medical advice for my patients with COVID-19. Due to lack of Protective Equipment, I’m limited in how I can work up and treat patients. It is beyond frustrating when other countries have more resources than we do right now! China was completely prepared before the virus even started! They are doing much better now because they have been through viral outbreaks before and are hard core communists taking charge of the pandemic from the beginning and enforcing quarantine. Other Asian countries had safety measures already in place, as well. Countries with socialized medicine also have more strict procedures and guidance from their governments. In the USA, we have a lack of leadership and guidance.
We have no standard of care. Politicians are not listening to public health recommendations. Trump flat out rejected the W.H.O.’s recommendations today!
What is going on? Politicians don’t trust medical decisions makers! They seem to care more about big business than the health of individual citizens!
I have patients with the virus having fever and cough refusing quarantine because they have to go to work to make a living! When I tried to report my concerns, the health department told me there is nothing they can do but tell me the exact same thing over and over - they need to quarantine and isolate until they are completely 100% better for 72 hours. But what do we do when the patient refuses?
Yesterday, a nurse at the AZDHS told me to call the governor’s office because he wasn’t allowing them to do anything. Tuberculosis patients are forced to isolate and quarantine but not COVID-19 patients!
Apparently, Arizona Governor Ducey is not heeding the health department’s advice and the health department workers are frustrated with hundreds of calls like mine. Our governor is fostering the spread of COVID-19 with his politics and delay in taking action.
After multiple unanswered emails and calls to the governor, I finally got through to someone at his office today! I learned that because we live in a democratic country, we have the freedom to spread our germs! This freedom is far more precious for the governor to uphold than to enforce a patient to stay in quarantine! There are no mandates or fines or act of crime to go to work knowingly sick; knowing you are spreading a potentially fatal virus to others! There are no benefits to my patient to want to stay home and miss work and miss getting paid.
While I feel for all of the “essential businesses” out there and appreciate my freedom of speech to post this message, I warn everyone to please be extra careful! We must be defensive in this country to protect ourselves from the virus spreaders because there is not much assistance from our government in stopping the spread. So, stay home, wear a mask over your nose and mouth. Wear gloves. Wash your hands multiple times. Wipe down everything you touch.
All food handlers should be wearing masks and gloves at this point in the pandemic. Please be very careful ordering take out and delivery! Make sure the food handlers are wearing protective masks and gloves because there are no mandates (except for gloves)and I have a food handling patient going to work at a popular restaurant who may be coughing on your food! (I can not give out any details due to HIPAA but this individual is not the only person out there infected and working). Be careful!
All groceries and packaging needs to be wiped down with disinfectant. Buy veggies that are wrapped in plastic and wipe them down before opening. If they are exposed, you can use some soapy water to wash off the skins and rinse well or remove the skins before consuming.
Also, look out for tons of scams out there! There are lab testing scams and charity scams. Question everything and only trust reliable sources. Please stay home and stay safe! By staying home, you are a home warrior!
