CRMC Specialist: We Are Letting Our Guard Down

Cookeville Regional’s Infectious Disease Specialist said the community has let its guard down concerning COVID-19.

Dr. Mark Pierce said the surge does not surprise him following the state’s reopening. But Pierce said he worries it could continue to worsen.

“We’ve seen clearly a increase in Putnam County as well as in other places,” Pierce said. “Part of that, I think, is due to increased testing, but an awful lot of that is also due to increase cases as well. I know from talking with several of my colleagues that there is more actual COVID-19 cases being seen in the community, in physicians offices as far as actual cases, rather than just people wanting to be tested.”

Cookeville Regional reported its highest hospitalization rates last week since the outbreak began with 18 patients in the hospital.

“It’s becoming more and more widespread, Pierce said. “There is clearly more transmission. And we have we have way more in the hospital than we had in any time previously. So it does concern us on a number of fronts.”

Putnam County’s positivity rate has steadily been at over nine percent for the last month, meaning nine percent of tests conducted are coming back positive. Federal health guidelines said a five percent rate would be a safe target.

Pierce said the momentum that began with closures in March and April led some to believe that we would eliminate COVID.

“I think it’s good to remember when we started this, the idea was to flatten the curve,” Pierce said. “And I think everybody kind of got it somehow, got it in their mind that flattening the curve and closing down meant stopping the virus in its tracks. And that never really was anybody’s. Nobody thought that would ever happen. At least nobody in the know.”

“I think definitely we’ve let our guard down think we had the idea that when we opened back up, there was a lot of people don’t take it seriously. They think they won’t get terribly sick from it. And a lot of them won’t. Actually, most of them won’t. But there are people, you know, who die from this. And so it is serious.”

The number of people under 30 getting COVID has increased. 24 percent of the cases across the state is among those 21-30 years of age.

“That person who has close personal contact with their family then spreads it within the family and then one of those persons, maybe before they become very ill, they spread it to someone that they’re in close contact with at work or at some kind of social function and then it spreads in that family,” Pierce said.

Pierce said because viruses do not respond well to treatment, practicing social distancing and good hygiene will be the only options until a vaccine arrives. Pierce said that means continued inconveniences.

“I’d say don’t get frustrated, just understand that this is not something that’s going to go away soon,” Pierce said. “And we have to adapt to it or or it’s going to impact us even worse or more negatively. So I would say just be patient. Continue to do those things even though you don’t necessarily want to. You know, we’re not going to die if we can’t go to a football game. It’s not fun to live this way. It’s different.”