A D.C. emergency room doctor on the front lines of the coronavirus battle is asking you to help by not going to the hospital unless you have a real emergency.
Showing some of the milder symptoms of coronavirus is not an emergency.
鈥淲e see a number of patients coming in concerned they have the virus and particularly coming in hoping to get tested for the virus,鈥� said Metro D.C. Emergency Department physician Jared Goldberg. 鈥淭here are a very limited number of testing kits available to our hospital and in many hospitals around the area so when patients come in, hoping to get tested, more than likely we do not have the resources to test them.鈥�
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Goldberg said if you go to the emergency department, and your symptoms are very minor, there鈥檚 really not much he’s going to be able to offer, not even reassurance, because you鈥檙e not likely to get a test.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to be routinely testing it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is not a test that even comes back in a few hours. We鈥檙e talking about turn around times of three to four days in most cases. So, I鈥檓 not going to be able to give you any reassurance, even if we are doing a test on you.鈥�
What you are doing by going to the emergency room is putting yourself, and others, at more risk by exposing yourself to potentially sick patients or, if you do have it, risking bringing a virus into contact with a more sick and vulnerable patient population.
What should you do?
It鈥檚 important to remember that with this virus, there is no early treatment available. He believes most people that get the virus are going to do just fine and are going to recover well. They鈥檙e just going to experience cold symptoms they can manage at home.
鈥淯nless you are extremely sick, to the point where you鈥檙e short of breath, its important for people to stay home, if you are able to, and try to manage your symptoms with regular over the counter medications,鈥� Goldberg said. 鈥淪eek emergency treatment only if you are having a true medical emergency.鈥�
草莓传媒’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
