‘The numbers aren’t critical, but they are definitely higher’: 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, September 17:

Mauricio Casillas (KVIA): How has this past week gone for you?

Dr. Jose Burgos (UMC’s Director of Internal Medicine): "We had a busy week this past week. As we anticipated, we had some numbers spiking in the hospital. They were not coming down as we wished. With the community reopening and kids going back to school, we're going to see more cases. The numbers are not critical, but they are definitely higher than the past couple of weeks."

Casillas: Can hospitals handle the current number of patients?

Burgos: "We have not only the man-power but the protective equipment and the beds to take care of these patients."

Casillas: What should people at home be doing right now?

Burgos: "Let's get ourselves a vaccine early. That way we can prevent any flu-like or influenza illnesses at this point. Then we can have a nicer winter season with all the respiratory illnesses that we can see."

Casillas: What is the most eye-opening thing you’ve seen this week?

Burgos: "The number of people in the hospital that still are not coming down significantly. We do expect certain peaks. Just based off the number of people positive in the community, we were expecting the numbers in the hospital to drop more significantly, and that didn't happen."

Casillas: What is your prediction for next week?

Burgos: "We should be staying the same as this past week. The activity levels are still moderate to high. The spread is out there."

Casillas: What is giving you hope at this time?

Burgos: "A large portion of the community is doing what we have to do. A large portion of people are actually taking care of this as individuals and that is what we need to see in a larger portion of the community to just gather up and do the same deal and be responsible for their own health."

Casillas: What is your message to the Borderland?

Burgos: "Educate your kids now that they are going back to school. Have strategies when you pick them up and talk about how do you work with hand hygiene, and reinforce the use of masks."

Statistics for September 17:

• 22,078 total cases, 2,801 active cases, 479 deaths in El Paso County

Here's a list of earlier segments:

• April 9 Q&A: (225 cases , 1 death)
• April 16 Q&A: (451 cases, 7 deaths)
• April 23 Q&A: (675 total cases, 543 active cases, 10 deaths)
• April 30 Q&A: (924 total cases, 506 active cases, 21 deaths)
• May 7 Q&A: (1,190 total cases, 541 active cases, 30 deaths)
• May 14 Q&A: (1,607 total cases, 771 active cases, 43 deaths)
• May 21 Q&A: (2,046 total cases, 883 active cases, 57 deaths)
• May 28 Q&A: (2,569 total cases, 1,032 active cases, 72 deaths)
• June 4 Q&A: (3,069 total cases, 1,059 active cases, 89 deaths)
• June 11 Q&A: (3,650 total cases, 1,015 active cases, 97 deaths)
• June 18 Q&A: (4,088 total cases, 946 active cases, 119 deaths)
• June 25 Q&A: (4,984 total cases, 1394 active cases, 125 deaths)
• July 2 Q&A: (6,389 total cases, 2,223 active cases, 132 deaths)
• July 9 Q&A: (8,385 total cases, 3,085 active cases, 145 deaths)
• July 16 Q&A: (10,638 total cases, 3,708 active cases, 173 deaths)
• July 23 Q&A: (12,501 total cases, 3,564 active cases, 211 deaths)
• July 31 Q&A: (14,276 total cases, 3,311 active cases, 266 deaths)
• August 6: (15,596 total cases, 3,747 active cases, 285 deaths)
• August 13 Q&A: (17,378 total cases, 4,166 active cases, 330 deaths)
• August 20 Q&A: (19,057 total cases, 4200 active cases, 382 deaths)
• August 27 Q&A: (19,925 total cases, 3,102 active cases, 410 deaths)
• September 3 Q&A: (20,686 total cases, 2,822 active cases, 429 deaths)
• September 10 Q&A: (21,335 total cases, 2,724 active cases, 452 deaths)