Best practices for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 change daily, so we asked Peterborough Fire Chief Ed Walker to walk us through the latest recommendations on what to do to prevent infection and what happens when you think you are infected.
We know we should only go out when we have to, but when we have to, how do we say safe?
“Touch as little as possible,” Walker said. Practice social distancing by getting no closer to other people than you have to. Staying at least six feet apart is the common guideline, he said. When you go into a building, “Make sure you wash your hands , or use hand sanitizer before you go in, and right when you come out,” of a store, he said. Face masks that cover your mouth and nose are recommended for public spaces now, even if they’re just cloth masks, Walker said. “It’s not so much to stop you from catching it, but from spreading it,” he said, which is especially important because people can spread the virus without ever demonstrating symptoms.
To properly clean your hands, use soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60 to 95 percent alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
How do you know if you’ve been exposed to the virus?
“Assume that you can get it anywhere,” Walker said, from any shared surface. “People just need to be hypervigilant,” he said.
How do you monitor for symptoms?
“Unfortunately, symptoms vary,” Walker said, and some people may never exhibit any symptoms. Others can experience difficulty breathing, coughing, fever, intestinal issues, general weakness, and being tired at varying ranges of severity, he said.
Walker distributes a handout to residents who have been identified as a contact to someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or have returned from an area with a level 3 travel advisory for COVID-19. It recommends that, for the 14 days following your last potential exposure, you:
1. Take your temperature with a thermometer at least two times a day and watch for cough or difficulty breathing.
2. Stay home from school and work.
3. Employees: Discuss your work situation with your employer before returning to work.
4. Do not take public transportation, taxis, or ride-shares.
5. Try not to have any visitors to your house during this time. If you have visitors, tell them that you are under COVID-19 quarantine.
6. Keep your distance from others (about 6 feet or 2 meters).
7. If you get sick with fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other signs of respiratory illness, call your provider.
8. If you need to seek medical care for other reasons call ahead to your doctor and tell them you are under COVID-19 quarantine.
To self-monitor, do health checks every morning and every night or anytime you feel like you might have a fever. Take your temperature and/or that of family members who are being monitored and cannot do so themselves. In addition to fever, be alert for any other symptoms of COVID-19, including cough or shortness of breath. Write your temperature and any symptoms in the log. Family members who are not being monitored do not need to record symptoms.
I think I have it, what do I do, and who do I tell?
If you’re experiencing life-threatening symptoms, call 911.
Walker and other first responders distribute the following instructions to people experiencing mild symptoms:
If you are experiencing symptoms including a fever, cough, or shortness of breath:
1. Do not go out in public.
2. Call your provider. Tell them you are under COVID-19 quarantine.
3. Seek medical advice – call ahead before you go to a doctor’s office or emergency room. Tell them you are under COVID-19 quarantine and about your symptoms.
4. Avoid contact with others.
5. Reminder: do not take public transportation, taxis, or ride-shares.
6. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
7. Wash your hands often.
When you notify your primary care physician, they’ll have you complete a health questionnaire, Walker said. Everyone you’ve been in close contact with will need to monitor for symptoms, he said. If your job function is essential, it’s recommended to let your supervisor know. They should inform the individuals who could have had close contact with you on the job, who will then be instructed to watch for symptoms, he said. Your primary care provider will give you the procedure for notifying others if you receive a positive diagnosis, Walker said.
When is it important to get tested?
“The guidance is changing almost daily on some of this,” Walker said. “Once you are infected, it is strictly managing symptoms,” Walker said. Your primary care physician ultimately decides whether it’s worthwhile to administer a test. “They’re looking at your risk factors as an individual should you come infected,” he said. If you have conditions that could make you higher risk, such as diabetes, respiratory problems, or if you’re overweight or over age 60, doctors will be more likely to recommend you get tested, he said.
Is there a stigma around admitting that you caught COVID-19?
“We haven’t quite run out of compassion yet as a society,” Walker said, and that there are still “so many unknowns” about how the virus is transmitted. Refocusing on providing care to people is more productive, he said.
How are first responders protecting themselves?
Firefighters and EMTs are now wearing masks whenever they go out on a call, Walker said. First responders are still interacting with the public and therefore have the potential to spread the virus, and the masks help to preempt that spread.
“All our ambulance and fire crews now have a change of clothes here at the station,” Walker said, so they can change and launder their clothes and shower immediately after being in contact with a person with a positive diagnosis. They use their fogging machine to decontaminate the ambulance and the cab of fire truck. Previously, they used the fogger when conducting routine cleanings every month or so, he said. “We were never careless, but it was not the same attention to detail,” as they’re employing during the pandemic, he said.
How can the public help?
“Without sounding like a total jerk, stay home,” Walker said. “Stop the spread of the disease.” He noted that Monadnock Community Hospital has set up a network for cloth masks to protect people coming in for routine treatments at the hospital, and that they’re also looking for monetary donations for additional personal protective equipment. Hospitals are also looking for volunteers with medical backgrounds, such as retired nurses, people with lapsed EMT certifications, as well as non-specialized volunteers to staff the 14 alternate care sites being set up around the state to treat people who would be in the hospital regardless of the pandemic.
Walker clarified the way the public should be interpreting the state’s confirmed COVID-19 case data at a recent virtual Select Board meeting. “The dataset is not perfect,” he said. Positive, lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases are updated daily at nh.gov/covid19, he said, and reflect cases reported by 8 p.m. the previous night. “It shows all the cases that have been reported in the community since this started,” he said, emphasizing that it’s a cumulative total that includes people who are no longer sick. He also reminded residents that, even though the data are now available by town, the reported information is based on the address provided at the time of testing and might not reflect where the test-positive person is now.