Weekly check-in Q&A with UMC’s Dr. Jose Burgos on virus pandemic
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, April 23...
Mauricio Casillas (KVIA): How has this past week gone for you?
Burgos: “We unfortunately had more fatalities, which is something that we unfortunately expected and we knew was going to happen. But it makes everything a little bit more difficult.”
Casillas: Can hospitals handle the current number of patients?
Burgos: “We can treat a much bigger number. We are ready, we have the capacity.”
Casillas: What should people at home be doing right now?
Burgos: “Keep yourself hopeful. Enjoy your family. These are difficult times but you need to make the best out of it.”
Casillas: What is the most eye-opening thing you’ve seen this week?
Burgos: “It was probably the patients who passed. It was an impact for all of us. It was an impact for their families of course. We know that this is something that can always happen — not only for coronavirus but for any case that we handle — we always know that there is a risk. But, obviously, based on how difficult the situation is socially, it had a huge impact on us and we’re just trying to overcome that and get ready. It will happen again. It’s something that will continue to happen, unfortunately.”
Casillas: What is your prediction for next week?
Burgos: “We can expect that some of those patients will be going home, will be getting better. But, we know that some of those patients might not do that well. Next week is probably going to be a little bit tougher than this one.”
Casillas: What is giving you hope at this time?
Burgos: “We have elderly patients also improving. That is something that makes you think that we can still beat this.”
Casillas: What is your message to the Borderland?
Burgos: “We need to believe science. Even though we don’t have all the answers at once, we’re going to keep fighting for the next few months and years until we get answers and we can make sure that situations like this can be prevented better and can be handled better.”
Here's a list of earlier segments:
