novel-coronavirus

The total number of new COVID-19 cases in Iowa is increasing daily, but health experts believe the peak has yet to come.

Greene County Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Line describes when the peak is anticipated to happen and how that estimate was determined.

“The anticipated peak in Iowa is in the next 2-3 weeks and that’s mid to late April, and that data is coming to us from the Iowa Department of Public Health. It is based on our current case counts in Iowa, demographics of the population, the mitigation efforts that we’ve already put in place such as closures of schools, bars, restaurants, stores and limiting mass gatherings, and the experience of the other states.”

Dr. Line points out, 80-percent of patients with COVID-19 do not need to be hospitalized, and about 15-percent of patients who are required to be hospitalized just need oxygen. He adds, about five-percent of patients with COVID-19 will require a stay in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) or use of a ventilator.

“We will not be keeping critically ill patients at Greene County Medical Center because we don’t have an ICU or ventilators. Patients who need ICU care will be transferred to a hospital that can care for them. Our goal is to be ready for every patient who comes to us, evaluate them, start the correct treatment, and get them to the right setting, whether that’s their home, our hospital for oxygen, or to a larger hospital for ICU care. And we’re ready to do that.”

To hear more from Dr. Line, as well as others from the hospital and Greene County Public Health, check out the special weekly Greene County Press Conference program through the on-demand selection under the listen live tab at raccoonvalleyradio.com.