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Hearing from the experts

THE DOCTORS ARE IN — Dr. Kenneth Woods, center, and Dr. Jasbir Makar, right, participate in a briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday at the Weirton Municipal Building. Dr. Rick Greco, left, also was on hand for the event, which was livestreamed on the city’s Facebook page and is part of a new series of briefings on the virus. -- Craig Howell

WEIRTON — City officials on Thursday welcomed a panel of local medical professionals to provide additional information on the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to reinforce some of the ideas of social distancing and other preventive measures they encourage residents to take to prevent the spread of the virus.

Participating Thursday were Dr. Jasbir Makar, Dr. Kenneth Woods and Dr. Rick Greco.

The panel was introduced by City Manager Joe DiBartolomeo.

“This is our first attempt at this,” DiBartolomeo said, noting the city plans to hold regular briefings to discuss the virus.

Those briefings will be livestreamed on the City of Weirton’s Facebook page.

Woods, an infectious disease specialist with Trinity Health System, explained COVID-19 is caused by a new version of the coronavirus, with the earliest known cases found in China and spreading around the globe.

“It is very communicable from person to person,” Woods said.

Woods noted the importance of the often-cited advice for social distancing and hand washing for the population, as well as the need to self-isolate if one feels they may have an infection.

“We really have to pay attention to what that means,” he said, explaining the reason for establishing 6-foot distances between people is to prevent particulates from coughs and sneezes, known to carry the virus, from reaching others.

Wearing a mask also is beneficial, he said, as it also cuts down the risk of spreading particulates from coughing and sneezing.

“If you have an illness, putting a mask on, covering your cough, covering your sneeze is paramount,” he said.

Makar, an internal medicine and cardiovascular disease specialist with Weirton Medical Center, agreed people need to continue taking precautions.

“These are painful times in our lives,” Makar said, adding, however, he feels the Ohio Valley has been fortunate with the relatively low numbers of known infections from COVID-19.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports seven cases in Hancock County and two cases in Brooke County. In Ohio, Jefferson County has 19 confirmed cases, according to the Ohio Department of Health, with Belmont County recording 36 cases and 81 cases found in Columbiana County.

West Virginia has recorded a total of 523 cases of COVID-19, with five deaths as of late Thursday. Overall, Ohio has seen a total of 5,512 reported cases, with 213 deaths.

Citing information from state health officials, Makar said it now is believed the peak for the area will be in the next week, and he feels there is hope as people are recovering from the virus.

“We all pretty much know, by now, what we need to do,” Makar said.

Woods also addressed the initial lack of testing made available, noting as the virus is new there had not been any tests developed for it.

“Our laboratories have never had to test for this before,” Woods said, explaining this has caused the reliance on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization for the early stages of testing and tracking the virus.

As more tests are being developed, more people can be checked and results can be made available more quickly.

The doctors also touched on the proposed use of hydroxychloroquine in treatment of the virus, saying that while there have been some successes, it has yet to go through enough testing or be recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Greco, president of physician enterprises and director of medical education at Trinity, reminded residents not to ignore other medical conditions during the pandemic, explaining hospitals and medical offices are taking measures to continue providing services for their patients when needed.

“I don’t want the public to ignore these over time,” he said, encouraging residents to still contact their health provider for their health needs. “These things have to be taken care of.”

Greco noted many doctors have been using telehealth programs to continue communicating with their patients, while some are asking patients to wait in their cars until it is time for the doctor to see them. Most insurance companies, he said, have begun covering telehealth operations.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com, and followed via Twitter @CHowellWDT)

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