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Ravages of the coronavirus in Miami: "People returned to normal lives and now we are paying the consequences"

2020-07-01T19:39:02.396Z


Argentine doctor Claudio Tuda, from Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, explained to Clarín what is happening in one of the epicenters of the pandemic in the United States.


Paula Lugones

06/30/2020 - 9:40

  • Clarín.com
  • World

The Argentine doctor Claudio Tuda works at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami on the front line against the coronavirus. Graduated from the University of Buenos Aires, specialist in infectious diseases, today he cares for patients who arrive with symptoms of COVID-19 in the place that has become one of the epicenters of the pandemic in the United States in recent days .

Cases in this state have reached a peak of 9,000 per day and the city of Miami is the one that registers the most cases. Florida is a Republican state and was one of the last to introduce restrictive measures and one of the first to lift them. The young men without a chinstrap turned to the beaches, bars and closed places, Tuda told Clarín and graphically: "Two weeks ago we had only three patients in the intensive care unit and now we have it full again ", with more young people.

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Given the peak of cases, certain measures were taken this week in Miami: it was decided that the beaches will be closed on the weekend of July 4, when people usually gather to see the fireworks, those who do not wear a chinstrap will be fined and banned alcohol in bars. The expert predicts that there may be another peak in September , when autumn arrives.

-What are the reasons for the outbreak in Florida?

-The reasons are basically linked to the lack of social distancing and the lack of the use of masks. This is a very simple thing: if you wear a mask and social distancing, the chances of contagion are much less. When the economy reopened, unfortunately, people returned to normal life and now we are paying the consequences.

“We are seeing younger people in the hospital, between 30 and 40 years old. People who go out and get together in groups, they go to a bar, they go to drink and those kinds of things that have not helped much "

Claudio TudaMedical at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami

-Did people in Florida take the reopening differently than other states?

-I think the whole country is the same and the difference is New York, where they are doing it differently. In Texas or Arizona, for example, it was misunderstood that going back to the economy was going back to normal life. That is not so , one thing does not remove the other. It is true that you cannot be without working or doing the usual things, but the issue is that you have to respect the social distancing that had been effective here.

-Florida was one of the states that took a little longer to implement the social distancing and closure measures and was also one of the first to lift them. Do you think that influenced?

-A bit of everything. When it is a political issue we misinterpret things. This is not that if you are a democrat you wear a mask and if you are a republican you do not use it. This is for everyone. It is respecting each other to prevent this from spreading further. This is not going to go away until we have an effective vaccine and it can take months and months or maybe years.

"Two weeks ago we had just three patients in the intensive care unit and now we have it full again"

Claudio TudaMedical at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami

-Was there a normal life in Florida? What did you observe on the streets of Miami?

-There were many places where people returned to their normal lives . On the beach everyone was together. Again family reunions in the houses and all without protecting themselves. Celebrations such as Father's Day or meetings in bars, many are open, where distance was not respected and not many people used the chinstrap.

-Are young people being much more affected at the moment?

-There is more testing now. The more you test, the more cases you find. We are seeing younger people in the hospital, between 30 and 40 years old. People who go out and get together in groups, go to a bar, drink and things like that that have not helped much.

Miami Beach in a photo last Friday./ EFE

- How is the panorama in the hospital, in the sanitary system? What capacity are they working at?

-We are fine but busier than we were two weeks ago. We had a very large peak between March and April, in which we were crowded with three full rooms and with a hundred and a few patients. Two weeks ago we had just three patients in the intensive care unit and now we have it full again. We are also fine, we have everything we need and we have effective treatments. We can treat patients earlier now and prevent a more severe illness from spreading.

“Wearing a chinstrap is not, as I heard some people say, that their rights are taken away. That is really stupid. "

Claudio TudaMedical at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami

-The mortality is not increasing, right?

-Not. We have a protocol that works quite well and we have a certain degree of effectiveness and that helps a lot.

- Could it be that the virus is mutating?

-No, the peak more than anything has to do with social distancing. Will the virus mutate? Yes, it is possible . As the influenza virus mutates, it may also mutate. We are still in the first wave. This is not over yet. What happens is that the second wave is going to arrive more or less at the end of September when autumn comes here and this is going to be combined with influenza, it is going to be hard there.

"You have to use the masks because today is the only thing we have. There is nothing more ”

Claudio TudaMedical at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami

"Is it going to be worse than this peak now?"

-Yes of course. Totally . I believe that if we don't get our batteries - as we Argentines say - and not all of us distance ourselves and protect ourselves, it will not go very well.

-Now with these measures the authorities have become firmer: they will close the beach for the July 4 holiday, alcohol is prohibited in bars. Can this help to lower the peak of this summer?

-I'm sure it will help, but what really has to change is the attitude of people in general. Wearing chinstrap is not, as I heard some people say, that your rights are taken away. That is really stupid. For example, nobody here complains about wearing a seat belt in the car because it is mandatory. This is the same situation. Wearing the mask saves lives . This is as if a person gets drunk, gets in the car, does not put on a seat belt, is driving on the highway on the opposite road: that person can kill himself, but he can kill others. That's the theme with the masks: it's not just to protect yourself but to protect other people. Wearing chinstrap is preventing the spread of the disease. Many people are extremely contagious without knowing that they have the virus. That's what makes all of this so difficult.

Johns Hopkins University Infographic: Clarín

-Can Florida be a particularly complicated center in September or will this be something general throughout the country?

- I believe that in all the country it will be basically the same. I think the complications are going to depend on the measures that are taken to prevent this from happening. This does not mean that you have to go to a total quarantine, that is going to have to be done if the situation gets out of control. The issue is preventing too many infections and not saturating the medical system. Many people forget about the human factor. We have been at this party for four months and in four months I have had six days off. We are working from 14 to 16 hours a day. If they come to us now with another wave like the one we had in April, who can take it? Who is replacing us? This is an important thing to keep in the equation as well.

Coronavirus in the United States

Johns Hopkins University Infographic: Clarín

-At this point you expected to have a flatter curve to be ready for September?

-We were fine, we were fine . At one point in the hospital we had 28 patients, nothing more. It is not that I disagree with opening the economy, quite the contrary, because it is healthy for everyone to be able to work. The theme is adapting to the new reality: you have to use the masks because today is the only thing we have. There is nothing more.

- Does the use of air conditioning have anything to do with it, as the governor of Florida suggested?

-No, it all depends on the chinstrap. And how many people are in the closed places. What happens here in Florida at this time of year is that nobody is outside, everyone is inside because it is very hot. In bars it is the same: people are inside because it is hot . The chances of contagion when you are outside are less because you are more likely to keep your distance. They can close the beach and those issues, but the biggest cause is overcrowding and being all together without masks.

Washington, correspondent

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2020-07-01

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