SAN ANTONIO -- Throughout his career, Dr. Fred Campbell says he’s seen a lot while working in the medical field, but the health care professional says no illness compares to the newest strain of the coronavirus.
- Tending to patients virtually
- Pre-approved testing at Freeman Coliseum
"This is far more aggressive, and of course, as you know, has led to deaths worldwide," said Campbell.
Campbell is an associate professor of medicine at UT Health San Antonio and a decades-long internist. His message for helping combat COVID-19 is what the public has heard for weeks now by medical experts: state and local leaders--use common sense practices.
"Theoretically, if everyone in our country were to practice social distancing and the other very common sense type of techniques like hand washing, coughing or sneezing into one's elbow, staying at least six feet away from one another and avoiding sick people, all of those common sense measures are likely to be effective mitigating the spread of the virus," Campbell said.
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For many statewide, working remotely is becoming the new normal. The doctor's colleagues at UT Health San Antonio are tending to patients through virtual visits.
“The physician can take medical symptoms from the patient and decided whether they are evaluated further,” he said.
Especially those patients showing symptoms of COVID-19 to their physicians. On Wednesday, Bexar County officials opened a pre-approved testing site for the coronavirus at the Freeman Coliseum. Testing is available for individuals who have received a doctor's orders and have scheduled an appointment. For high-risk patients, Dr. Campbell suggests contacting the nearest emergency room.
"If they have such severe symptoms that they may be at imminent risk or worsening or even death,” Campbell said.
For now, Campbell is remaining cautiously optimistic about the future and the efforts being put in place now.
“We could start seeing some improvement over a period of weeks. It really depends, of course, a whole lot upon our ability as a country to observe those preventive measures," he said.