INTERVIEW: San Angelo's Top Doc Says Coronavirus Will Trouble Us for 10-12 Months

 

SAN ANGELO, TX — Dr. James Vretis, MD answered some tough questions about the COVID-19 crisis as it pertains to San Angelo on Thursday in a video produced by the City of San Angelo Public Affairs office. City Public Affairs Communications Coordinator Lorelei Day interviewed him

Dr. Vretis is a Shannon Medical Center emergency doctor in addition to the doctor who is advising City of San Angelo and Tom Green County about COVID-19. He said he and the rest of the world have learned much about the coronavirus and the disease it causes. They are still learning, he said.

“It’s a real sneaky sort of disease,” he said. “That’s what’s bad about it. Eighty-five percent of the people who get the disease don’t know they have it.”

Only 12-13 percent of those infected get uncomfortable symptoms, he continues. Three percent get sicker than one would with regular pneumonia. And the ones who get so sick with an upper respiratory disease need to be put on a ventilator. A COVID-19 patient will need a ventilator for weeks while a traditional pneumonia patient may only need one for a few days. This is one reason why officials at all levels are concerned about the use of resources to cure patients badly affected by COVID-19.

WATCH the full interview:
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Vretis said that in the U.S., unlike what was witnessed in China and Italy, COVID-19 is not just a disease that affects the elderly. He said in the U.S. the disease is causing illness in younger people.

“We are not seeing this as just an old folks’ disease,” he said.

Dr. Vretis explained that the coronavirus can suspend in the air for up to three hours from sneezing or coughing. This is why the six-foot separation between people is so important. Remember, he said, 85 percent of the people who are contagious are not showing symptoms.

The virus can live on copper surfaces, a copper door knob perhaps, for 6 to 8 hours; 48 hours on cardboard; and 6 days on some types of plastics.

Testing is taking a week or more because the labs are limited in capacity, he said. For example, at the public lab in Lubbock, only 10-25 tests can be performed a day. The Lubbock lab serves more than just San Angelo. Shannon Medical Center also has some private labs it can use for testing, he said.

The best way to avoid catching COVID-19 is to stay away from other people, he said. He added the other guidelines like sanitizing everything, washing hands, and not touching your face.

The coronavirus problem will be with us for 10 to 12 months, he said. "That's just enough time for it to run around the world twice."

Watch the full video above for more.

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Wabo73, Thu, 03/26/2020 - 22:14

12 months no way it lasts more than another month kiss everything goodbye it will be total shutdown on everything and then riots and stuff I’m not sorry but this guy is doing nothing but causing excessive fear and more hoarding get rid of this moron 12 months? In 3 people will be killing each other for gas for generators and tp and bullets

Ok, here is the deal. You get to sit back and play both sides of the coin. When a professional comes out and says something like this and it doesn't come EXACTLY true, you smugly cross your arms and "I told you so" anyone that will give you the time.

But THE second something does shake down as predicted, you and everyone like you is begging for a handout and looking to somehow blame liberals. Its never your fault and "I don't take responsibility at all" are the first words out of your mouth.

Quit psychologically projecting all of your fears and insecurities onto people online! You don't know what it's like to have the coddling embrace of your first world certainties ripped away from you like the loud toy of a 2 year old child!

Why don't you put down the toilet seat, take out the trash, and quit hogging the remote, Wabo! Put down that beretta you mentioned a few months ago and realize that most people aren't stocked up with Family Wellness brand Medicated Chest Rub as a potential cure and have to use actual Vaporub or Vicks and are now living under an antibacterial light!

You think I'm butthurt, Wabo? Well newsflash, buddy! I went to the store for extra strength Preparation H ... AND THEY WERE OUT. I had to buy the off brand! I've been crying so many salty tears that I started watering my garden with them and now I've salted my own yard.

Do you even understand what it's like to have to FEEL as though you live with the same level of danger as an oilfield grunt or a police officer despite the fact that this anxiety is largely manufactured by media focus? Maybe, once the economy tanks from our presciently hypervigilant response and we point back to this as proof that we were right despite the effects of the virus itself being relatively negligible in comparison, you'll finally understand!

You're the worst, Wabo! Doom on you!

https://youtu.be/1N5p8IXzNdc

You see, I've been reading that most of you would say that this type of information is fear mongering. Do you not understand that this article is a beacon of light if it were to be true? 85% of people won't even know they have it he says and you call that fear mongering?! THIS IS THE BEST CASE SCENARIO. That's what you are failing to grasp. The fact that only 15% of people would need medical attention? That's great news. That means we achieve herd immunity quickly. That means the hospitals require less manpower and don't get overrun as quickly if not at all. Epidemiologists across the globe that aren't having their pockets lined by MSM and the like agree that the situation outlined in this article provides the best case for the entire world. Fear mongering? If the facts alarm you, the problem isnt with the facts.

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