‘The disease is far from gone’: Weekly check-in with UMC’s Dr. Jose Burgos
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- In an effort to deliver the most comprehensive coronavirus coverage, ABC-7 has started a weekly feature where we ask Dr. Jose Burgos, the director of internal medicine at University Medical Center, the same seven questions each week to track how the pandemic is changing.
Here's the Q&A for Thursday, May 7:
Mauricio Casillas (KVIA): How has this past week gone for you?
Dr. Jose Burgos: "We had a really busy week here in the hospital. We had a surge in our admissions. Specifically for people with the diagnosis of Covid-19."
Casillas: Can hospitals handle the current number of patients?
Burgos: "We can still handle the current number of patients. We're actually working on backup plans in order to deal with the surge of admissions, which is something that we're seeing already. But, we have the capacity to handle the cases at this point."
Casillas: What should people at home be doing right now?
Burgos: "Be mindful of protecting your family members. Don't go crazy throwing parties. This is not the time. The virus has not gone anywhere. We are the busiest that we have been. We are diagnosing more cases every day, so the disease is far from gone."
Casillas: What is the most eye-opening thing you’ve seen this week?
Burgos: "It is concerning that you're seeing younger patients who don't have any medical problems getting sick to the point that they need to be in the intensive care unit. Then you have elder patients who theoretically have everything to lose if they get the infection and they actually do very well. This is not how it normally behaves but it has happened. It means that we don't really know much about this."
Casillas: What is your prediction for next week?
Burgos: "The cases are surging. Today especially has been a very busy day. I anticipate that next week it's probably going to be worse."
Casillas: What is giving you hope at this time?
Burgos: "We are seeing a lot of patients recovering. We're seeing patients who are recovering despite their age, and despite the medical problems that they have. This is something that gives us hope, that we can definitely successfully treat most of the cases."
Casillas: What is your message to the Borderland?
Burgos: "You don't want to get your mother sick. You want to stay home. The best gift that you can give them is for them to stay healthy. You want to celebrate next year."
Here's a list of earlier segments:
- April 9 Q&A: (225 cases , 1 death in El Paso County)
- April 16 Q&A: (451 cases, 7 deaths in El Paso County)
- April 23 Q&A: (675 cases, 10 deaths in El Paso County)
- April 30 Q&A: (924 cases, 21 deaths in El Paso County)
