District health director provides COVID-19 update via streaming social media

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 — Sara Jo Best, the executive director of the Lincoln Trail Health Department, provided an update Wednesday evening via a streamed interview from the studios of WQXE in Elizabethtown.

“We will get to this, but it will take all of us working together and doing their part,” Best said during the interview.

She stressed the important of social distancing as he main way to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. Following social distancing guidelines is just being a good citizen, she said.

The only known case of the Coronavirus in the Lincoln Trail district at this time is the 53-year-old man in Nelson County, but that doesn’t mean more cases aren’t going to be discovered.

“I expect we’ll see positive cases in every one of our counties,” she said, adding that one of the most powerful tools we have to slow the spread of the virus is proper social distancing.

Without social distancing, virus infections can quickly overwhelm our medical system, she explained.

As an example of the power of social distancing, Best told how during the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918, officials in Philadelphi ignored warnings about the flu, and allowed a massive parade to go on, bringing thousands of people into the city. As a direct result, thousands became ill, and 16,000 people died within six months.

In St. Louis, officials took the warnings seriously about the Spanish flu and implemented safety measures that included social distancing and isloation. The government closed schools and encouraged improved personal hygiene. As a result, St. Louis saw just 2,000 Spanish flu deaths — one-eighth of the deaths compared to Philadelphia.

Social distancing made a huge difference then, and it is everyone’s responsibility to slow the number of people who get infected by the virus in a short time.

Due to the number of rumors and misinformation that is spreading on social media, Best recommended that people use factual and information websites for information.

Those websites include the CDC, the state’s COVID-19 website, and the Lincoln Trail health Department website.

“Taking these measures before the infections arrive is prevention at its best,” she said.

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