As cases of COVID-19 continue to soar here in Florida, our concierge doctors are disturbed by the number of people who still refuse to wear face masks in public. We believe it’s because they don’t understand the usefulness of face masks in stemming the spread of the coronavirus.
So we’d like to explain the rationale behind the need for everyone to wear face coverings when they are around other people.
One side effect from the coronavirus pandemic has been an increase in weight gain among many of us who have been forced into inactivity through the stay-at-home restrictions. In addition, people have turned to stress eating and frenzied periods of baking—as witness the lack of flour and sugar on store shelves—so it’s not surprising that some people are finding it harder to fit into their summer clothes.
While many of our old pursuits and gatherings have been curtailed in the past few weeks due to the pandemic, one place we’ve been able to find solace as well as exercise has been in nature. And now that the stay-at-home restrictions are easing, and summer’s here in all its glory, we’ll no doubt be spending even more time outdoors.
Our concierge doctors want to assure concerned parents that the strange new syndrome in children which is associated with the coronavirus is no cause for concern yet. But we do want to acquaint you with the symptoms and the possibility of its spread so you’ll know what to watch out for in your child.
Hurricane season in the Atlantic typically runs from the first of June to the end of November, but this year, for the fourth time in as many years, we’ve already seen our first named tropical storm in May. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), along with other forecasters, predict that the 2020 hurricane season will be more active than normal but even so, it turns out that there is no correlation between the number of storms in a season and how often they make landfall.
At this point, the only communicable disease we know of that is more transmissible than the novel coronavirus is measles. This is why our concierge doctors were concerned about a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that warned of a potential measles outbreak among children.
Amid all the frenzy across the media about the coronavirus, a disturbing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study dropped last month with barely a ripple. It found that the obesity rate in the U.S. continues to edge up, from 40 percent in a 2015-16 study to 42 percent in the current 2017-18 study.
Our concierge doctors have said previously that COVID-19 affects all ages, including young children. But the highest death toll has been among older people, from ages 60-65 and up. In the U.S., 80 percent of deaths from this pandemic have occurred in adults age 65 and older.
Our concierge doctors at MD 2.0 in Jupiter have heard many of those pushing back against social distancing restrictions wondering why such a fuss is being made over the viral respiratory illness COVID-19. They claim it’s just another type of flu.
Our concierge doctors thought this would be a good time to tell you about viruses in general, especially the novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, aka COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus; COVID-19 is the disease it produces. This nomenclature is similar to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its resulting disease, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
