Another day through a pandemic, another opportunity to hear from Sanford Health leaders at the helm.
Dr. Jeremy Cauwels, senior vice president of clinic quality, helped to continue the conversation with topics including Sanford Health’s new safety measures at its facilities, video visits, face masks and surge planning as we assess the current situation.
Dr. Cauwels also addressed questions about how long the virus stays in people who have it.
“The science isn’t clear on how long you keep the virus in your body. It’s probably less than a month, but we don’t know exactly how long,” he said. “When the fever goes away, the cough goes away, you’re much less likely to infect someone than you are early in that course.”
He says it’s not a matter of the virus being in your body. It’s a matter of you spreading it.
“When those go away, you’re probably safe,” Dr. Cauwels says, recommending at least 14 days at home to keep the community safe.
Cleaning a cloth face mask
People are thinking a lot about face masks, for health care workers but also for the public now. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages people to wear cloth masks in public to prevent transmission from asymptomatic carriers of the virus.
Cleaning your cloth face mask is easy, Dr. Cauwels said.
“A washing machine and a dryer will do everything you need it to to kill a virus.”
‘We are ready’
“What we’ve done, the processes we’ve taken up to this point, have us prepared for whatever this virus brings to us in our community,” Dr. Cauwels said. “The most important part that we can do, as a population of Sanford now, is to make sure the other people in our community know we’re ready to come out, help and be there if they need us.”
Find more of the conversation with Dr. Cauwels on the Sanford Health Facebook page.
More information
- Sanford Bismarck installs thermal body temperature scanner
- Sanford takes additional measures in commitment to safety
- COVID-19 FAQs: Do we need to wear face masks?
…
Posted In Bismarck, COVID-19, Expert Q&A
