Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough has tested one patient for the coronavirus (COVID-19), but said the test came back negative for the virus.
“We had one. It was a low probability. It was negative,” said MCH’s Chief Medical Officer Michael Lindberg.
While they have received numerous other requests from people in the community asking to be tested, hospital officials said Monday, they are closely following state guidelines on who should be tested, in large part because of the limited amount of test kits available in New Hampshire.
“That’s a big part of it. We have very few test kits,” Lindberg said. “As of this morning, 47 people in New Hampshire have been tested, two have been confirmed positive, two are still under investigation.”
Lindberg said MCH had about 10 test kits available initially but may have more now.
“Despite news stories to the contrary, COVID-19 testing is not universally available at this time,” hospital spokesman Phil McFarland said Monday. “There are a limited number of test kits in New Hampshire. Additionally, some of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 are experienced by many people with the common cold or flu, which is prevalent across the U.S. this time of year. Testing everyone with one or two of those symptoms would only delay healthcare systems’ ability to identify and treat those that have the virus. The termination of whether to test the patients for COVID-19 is made on an individual basis, following consultation by their physician or provider with the New Hampshire Division of Health and Human Services … The final decision to test is made by the New Hampshire Division of Health and Humans Services following their decision-making algorithm, which is based on the Center for Disease Control’s most up-to-date information. And the algorithm used by the DHHS will continue to evolve as research continues to improve our understanding of the virus.”
MCH’s Chief Nursing Officer Vicki Loughery, RN, said symptoms are most likely to appear between two and three days after contact with the virus.
“If they did get sick and they are relativity healthy they should be all clear by day 14,” Loughery said.
In the absence of a test, someone might be quarantined for 14 days, hospital officials said.
People who believe they might have it are asked to call their health care providers with their concerns. Lindberg said if a person were to walk into MCH and say they are concerned they may have the coronavirus the first thing hospital staff would do would be to place a mask on the person.
“So if they have the coronavirus, if they have the common cold, if they have the flu – they are not going to affect anybody else,” he said. “We are going to ask them if they have traveled to an endemic area and we’re going to ask them if they have had any close contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.”
At that point, if it is determined they could have the virus they are placed in one of the hospital’s negative pressure rooms for further care and testing.
Hospital officials urge people to go online daily to the CDC and the hospital’s website for updates.
Loughery said the most important thing people need to hear is that “they need to, kind of, control their own destiny.”
“They need to be washing their hands, frequently. They need to be not touching their faces. They need to be avoiding large mass gatherings. … They need to think about their travel plans. And whether they should go on that trip and whether they are willing to stay home for 14 days upon their return. They shouldn’t be buying everything off of the shelves in the stores.”
People also need to stop buying medical masks, which are only good at keeping sick people’s germs from spreading if they cough or sneeze.
“The mask is to keep the disease from spreading. Unless you are properly fitted with a proper mask … all the masks that people are wearing, the particles go right through it,” Loughery said.
She also said people are better off washing their hands with soap and water as opposed to using hand sanitizer, which most people are not using properly.
“Stop hugging, stop handshaking for a little bit, stay within a six feet radius of people,” she said.
And, Lindberg said, “Don’t share the wine chalice at your service on Sunday. People forget about that one.”
Loughery said people should not be panicked about the coronavirus and referenced an editorial she recently read.
“It said one of the worst days for coronavirus was the tenth day of February when a 108 people in China died. That was their highest death day. It says that on the same day 26,283 people died of cancer, 24,000 people died of heart disease, 4,300 people died that day of diabetes, and suicide on that day took more lives than the virus did by 28 times,” Loughery said. “So there are multiple fears that society should have and we should keep it all in context. And I think education and self-prevention is our best fight against it.”
And living in a rural area is somewhat of a safeguard against it, she said. “We are not as densely populated as other parts of the country where it is spreading rapidly.”