El Paso infectious disease expert says healthcare may face demand even after virus stops spreading
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Hospitals in El Paso are dealing with an unprecedented surge in patients as new coronavirus cases are diagnosed each day. A local infectious disease expert is warning the demand on our healthcare systems could continue even after the virus stops spreading.
“The system will be stretched for a long time,” said Dr. Armando Meza, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. “It's probably going to be another year before we see any steady state situation. That doesn't mean that the number of cases is going to continue for the next year. Hopefully with the vaccine we'll see some improvement of those of those rates, but what we will see is that there are going to have to be some changes in the availability of the resources that we will have under normal circumstances to meet the demands of long-term care.”
Dr. Meza said that long-term care is what follows a Covid-19 infection, as some patients could be dealing with symptoms for months.
“It can be damage of their lung function. It can be damage to the brain, the kidneys. We know that many organs are being affected by the virus and those are going to take months for recovery,” he said. “The healthcare system is going to have to also increase the resources related to long-term care of individuals who are permanently affected by Covid-19.”
As of Friday morning, more than 59,000 people in El Paso had been diagnosed with Covid-19 since the pandemic began. The number continues to grow each day.
In the short term, Dr. Meza said part of the reason for the strain is that the number of new coronavirus cases is outpacing the number of new recoveries. He also noted that many Covid-19 patients will require longer hospital stays than patients fighting other illnesses.
