PULMONOLOGIST DR. DAVID PRICE: Don’t panic. Wash your hands and don’t touch your face.

Become a “hand nazi” and you won’t get this disease, says a NYC Doc in the middle of the Chinese virus outbreak.  And don’t touch your face.

Always know where your hands are and carry your hand sanitizer with you, on your person.   Touch something?  Purell.

And masks help get you out of the habit of touching your face.  It’s a training device.

Listen to the whole thing.  Or, for those with limited time, read the Cliff’s Notes below.

Here’s a summary, from The Conservative Treehouse.

He teared up in the beginning, because he is NOT scared anymore, now that they have wrapped their minds around this thing and how it is spreading.

Says transmission is through *sustained* contact with somebody who already has it, or will become symptomatic within 2 days.

He says you generally need long sustained contact of 15 – 30 minutes for transmission.

Most people who have it get it by TOUCHING SOMEBODY who has it and then touching their hands and face.

He says Covid is in your community right now, but if you take appropriate measures “become a hand nazi” you can avoid it.

Walk around with purell if possible.

You aren’t going to get sick because somebody touched something and then 10 people touch it after you. It is sustained contact with somebody, he emphasizes.

He says psychologically start working on the connection between your hand and your face and begin to police yourself.

He suggests starting to wear a mask (doesn’t have to be a medical mask) to stop you from touching your face.

He says 99% of cases can be prevented by washing your hands and not touching your face.

He says you don’t have to be scared of the outside world, now, you don’t have to be afraid of your neighbor. The only way you are going to get this disease is if your hands are dirty with disease and you touch your face.

He does say shrink your social circle. Find your isolation group and set boundaries within that group. People who get it are people who are maintaining large social circles.

You can go to the store without any fear. If you wash your hands and don’t touch your face, you are not going to get the disease.

What do you do if you get COVID-19?

Throughout the world the vast majority of spread has been family transmission.

If you develop fever and you are otherwise fine, isolate yourself from your family. You don’t want anybody around you to have sustained contact with you.

If you are able have the person in their own room with their own bathroom.

If you have a medical mask, the family member who is sick should wear it if they leave the room. They should wash their hands, put a mask on, go out and eat and go back to their room. Wash all the things afterwards.

Don’t send somebody in and out to check their temperature.

Vast majority will have fever, body aches feel bad for 5 – 7 days and then start to get better.

If you are feeling better you can begin to come back out into life, keep a mask on and wash your hands.

If you feel like you are getting sick but don’t know what it is, take precautions for 1 – 2 days. If you don’t get worse, you don’t have COVID-19 and you can interact with your family.

You can have COVID-19 in your house and not everybody will get it.

EXCEPTIONS:
If somebody has COVID-19 and you have a vulnerable person in your family you either need to find another place for that person to be or practice very strict isolation for that person.

Simply being in a home with somebody with COVID-19 will not get you sick.

WHEN DO YOU GO TO THE HOSPITAL?
If you are feeling short of breath go to the hospital.
Not for fever, not for body aches.

They are sending people with these symptoms home.

Of the population of people who get COVID-19
10% of people need to go to the hospital.
Of those people 3% go on ventilator,
of those people the vast majority come off the ventilator in 5 – 7 days.

SHOULD I GET TESTED?
Depends on availability of testing in the community.

If you have flu like symptoms, it is likely COVID-19, and you should be behaving anyway.

If you have clear access to testing, its a good idea because if it is negative then you can interact with your family.

If there is limited testing available in your community, don’t go get tested unless you are short of breath so you can save the tests for the people who really need them.

Q & A
Infants and newborns – we don’t think there is fetal transmission. “Dr. Parents” are very happy because there is almost no COIVID-19 from age 0 -14. There are very rare exceptions. Kids are not getting sick.

Kids may be transmitting without getting sick.

Is is Airborne vs Droplet Transmission?
The vast vast vast majority is droplet transmission, hands to face. A droplet falls from the mouth or nose, a hand touches it and then touches their mouth. 80% of time nurses are in the room with a patient they are just wearing a surgical mask. They are only using N95 masks when doing a procedure where there is spit /an aerosolizing procedure involved. There has been 0 transmission this way.

The healthcare providers who are getting sick are healthcare providers on the frontline and not protecting themselves. Like a GP who spent 25 minutes in a room with a patient 3 weeks ago without protection.

Is it safe to go on a run or a walk?
Yes, please if you are in a city you can go outside. If you touch elevator button, or door, purell your hands.

**Just don’t get sloppy.**

Wear a mask, not to prevent transmission from other people, but so you won’t touch your face.

CORONA VIRUS IS A WHIMP. IT DIES AS SOON AS YOU DISINFECT IT

Is a long car ride safe?
As long as nobody in the car has it.

Is it necessary to wipe groceries down?
No. If you live in NYC where there is a lot of contact with stuff, have the delivery person leave it outdoor as an overabundance of caution. Don’t high 5 the delivery man. Don’t have a huge long interaction with delivery bag.

CLEAN YOUR HANDS NOT THE BAGS and you’ll be fine.

Is it irresponsible to go to Starbucks drive-thru?
Can you interact safely? Yes
Follow the rules. Wash you hands, accept the coffee wash your hands. If you can stay home, stay home.

What about clothes after you go to grocery store?
Absolutely not

Healthcare providers in rooms with COVID patients for 12 hours was their clothes.

Should I go to the doctor?
Use telehealth. We have an army of doctors waiting a home for your telecare call.

Is there clarity about the incubation period?
No, I think the incubation period is probably based on exposure. Heavy interaction could be a couple of days, interaction with mild exposure could be up to 14 days.
If you had causal contact with somebody and don’t feel sick at 14 days, safe to say you are safe.

What is up with younger people getting?
This disease affects everyone who is not in the age group of 0 – 14 years old.

There is a very evil narrative in the beginning of the disease that it was only old people or people with diabetes or other conditions. Older people do worse, but younger people can get it.

You can get this disease and end up on mechanical ventilation. The younger you are the less likely it will happen, the older you are the more likely it will happen.

FOLLOW THE RULES AND YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF

Body Aches
Cough
Sore Throat
90% Fever

Ibuprofen?
Take Tylenol instead, data from Germany shows

People get short of breath and over 1 -3 days they get more short of breath so that they can’t walk to the bathroom, then we put them on a ventilator.

IF YOU ARE SHORT OF BREATH GO TO THE HOSPITAL

Our first patient was 39, he needed mechanical ventilation, he is now home.

Main role for a homemade mask is for you to use. If you are sitting on a stash of N95 masks, you don’t need them, give them to your medical providing friends.

Do you anticipate 2nd and 3rd Waves?
I think social distancing will be for months if not a year.

First flatten the curve. A second small spike will come after people relax, then it will come under control again.

3 – 6 – 9 months till it is under control.

First focus for next 7 -14 days is to learn the rules. As soon as you learn the rules you will be safe.

What about asymptomatic spread?
Asymptomatic spread – people are showing the disease 1 – 2 days before they show symptoms. Get in touch with people you have been in contact with for the few days before you become symptomatic. There are not a large group of people who have it

Are people becoming immune after they recover?
YES, the stories you are hearing are from people who never resolved to begin with. You are spreading the disease from 1-2 days prior to being symptomatic to 14 days afterwards.

The natural course of the disease is once the world sees it, it will enter the circulation, mutate and get milder and milder and within 5 years it will feel like a cold.

IS IT MORE SEVERE IN PREGNANT WOMEN
He has seen zero pregnant women in ICU. At his hospital there is a male predominance.

If you are walking and short of breath, go to the hospital.
If you are sitting and short of breath, go to the hospital.
If you have a fever, stay home.

IS THERE HERD IMMUNITY?
I think the UK is wrong the way they are doing it. We should flatten the curve and let time pass to develop herd immunity.

FOLLOW THE RULES AND YOU WILL BE FINE AND SO WILL HEALTHCARE WORKERS