Written by Namrata Singhi, MD
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced Friday that the statewide “Home or Work” order will be lifted and returned to voluntary status on Monday, May 4.
“Our goal from the onset of this deadly pandemic has been to protect South Carolinians, but as we all know, the state’s economic health is a major component of the state’s public health,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. “South Carolinians, now more than ever, should be vigilant in protecting themselves, their loved ones, and their communities by practicing social distancing and continuing to follow the advice and recommendations from our public health experts.”
As we prepare to get back to business, I want to remind you that it will not be business as usual. The reopening of states does not mean the pandemic is over or that COVID19 is no longer a threat. For our patients at Pennington Primary Care, the process will be a little different. This will be shared with you through email, appointment pre-instruction text messages and on our Patients Only Facebook page.
For your safety, and for the safety of others, we continue to recommend social distancing, avoiding crowds, wearing masks while in public, vigilant hand washing/sanitizing and not touching your face.
Continue to monitor your symptoms and notify your doctor if you feel you may have COVID19.
As we all learn more about the presentation of the novel coronavirus. Six new symptoms were recently added on 4/27/2020 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We would like to make our Direct Primary Care (DPC) family aware of the update.
Remember the symptoms can appear between two to fourteen days after exposure to the virus with symptoms ranging from mild to severe illness.
People may have COVID-19 with either COUGH or SHORTNESS OF BREATH/DIFFICULTY BREATHING
Or at least two of these symptoms:
1) Fever*
2) Chills
3) Repeated shaking with chills
4) Muscle pain
5) Headaches
6) Sore throat
7) New loss of taste or smell
*not a reported new symptom
Also mentioned on the CDC.gov website are clear instructions when to seek medical attention which includes these emergency warning signs for COVID-19:
1) Trouble breathing
2) Persistent pain/pressure in chest
3) New confusion or inability to arouse
4) Bluish lips or face
Please remember to wear your cloth face coverings. Based on the way COVID-19 is transmitted, the CDC recommends people cover their nose and mouth when out in the community. The main reason for wearing a mask, scarf, bandana in public is to prevent the wearer, who may be asymptomatic, from spreading the virus to others. It does not do much to prevent the wearer from being exposed to droplets from another person unless you add additional filters to your cloth mask. The droplets can also get in the mucus membranes of your eyes and get you infected. Regular glasses do not offer enough protection.
Another question that I was asked recently was if you are wearing your cloth face covering do you still need to practice social distancing? The answer to this question is YES. The CDC has recommended that people should remain at least 6 feet away and practice frequent hand cleaning in addition to wearing the cloth face mask. Bottom line, to protect yourself, stay home unless you absolutely need to go out and then use sanitizer, wash hands, avoid touching your face and keep at least 6 feet apart.
This is a helpful list of Do’s & Don’ts per CDC regarding face coverings:
I have also included a short easy-to-do how to make a cloth face covering at home video by the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, please view it on: https://youtu.be/tPx1yqvJgf4
Also this website has do it yourself tutorials how to create sew and no sew face masks (t-shirt and bandana):
How to care for your cloth face masks:
1) CDC recommends to routinely washing depending on how often it is used
2) Washing machine is an acceptable means to safely clean your masks
How to safely remove your cloth face masks: be careful not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth when removing your masks and always remember to wash your hands immediately after for at least 20 seconds.
Be creative and please do share a picture of your cloth face covering with us.
Together lets be smart and stay well.
Links for additional information: