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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
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Health & F tness
AUGUST 13, 2020
Corona Positive Until Proven Otherwise
THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
By Hylton I. Lightman, MD, DCH (SA), FAAP
B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M
M
y lifelong drive to do for people and for my community is one of the reasons I became a physician. But my drive is not just about doing. It’s about doing the right thing and doing it properly. Hence, what I’m about to say may not be popular. Yet winning a popularity contest has never been a goal for me. By saying what I am about to, I am confident that I am doing things correctly which, with G-d’s help, will help and benefit us all. All children returning home from overnight camp should be deemed Corona/Covid-19 positive until proven otherwise. This is strong. This is blunt. It certainly is not sugarcoated. Allow me to explain why and the thinking behind this statement, as well as a “game plan” for moving forward. Too many of our children are returning home from overnight camp Covid-19 positive: even one child returning home Covid-positive is one too many. When returning home, they’ve been meeting their parents at the buses with symptoms of sore throats, fevers, loss of taste, loss of smell, etc. These symptoms do not ring bells but sound alarms. These
myriad of symptoms may have been present before boarding the bus to home sweet home. Parents whisked kids off to pediatricians who tested and confirmed the alarms – Covid-19. There was Covid-19 in camps. But how? Kids were to have been tested to make sure they were Covid-negative prior to boarding the buses to camp. Camps were to have been hermetically sealed, with staff and campers not leaving grounds for any reason whatsoever. I wrote about this not even eight weeks ago. But speculating how the Covid outbreak in camps has happened is not for now. Several parents of Covid-positive kids then notified camps administrators, urging camps to inform all parents pronto (thank G-d for email) that kids had tested positive for Covid-19. As an aside, a colleague told me about a Covid-positive patient who said that after she and her friends did not find the camp nurse particularly helpful when informed of their symptoms, the girls decided to see what it really meant to have no taste sensation. They planned and executed an onion-and-garlic-mustard-sandwich party, laughing while ingesting since
they could not taste a blessed morsel nor smell a thing. Ugh. I’ve wondered how they got the goodies for this party. Remember: camps were to have been hermetically sealed. In the meantime, what about the other kids coming home from camp? As soon as they bounced off the buses, they do what any other kids do when returning from camp. They visit Bubbe and Grandpa. They shop in stores and accompany Mommy on errands. They spend time/hang out with friends. They also attend or work in local day camps. In other words, these kids who unknowingly might have Covid or may be “shedders” are unwittingly and unknowingly spreading Covid within our communities. It is no wonder then that there has been an uptick in the number of corona cases in our neighborhood and extended community. It is an uncomfortable feeling that departments of health are reaching out to our askanim and professionals to discuss this phenomenon. The next waves of kids returning home from camps are about to occur. I believe that camps heretofore mishandled things because of ignorance.
There is no blaming here. We cannot afford discordance or finger pointing. What we need is a plan, one that will identify who is Covid-positive and quarantine them. So this is my vision. Imma or Daddy should reach out to the pediatrician to find out what the pediatric office has planned for Covid testing. Book an appointment for each returning child. Before disembarking from the bus, each child should be handed a mask. Mommy or Abba, who should also be masked, should greet them warmly: a hug is fine as long as the two huggers are masked. Then it’s off to see the pediatrician for the Covid test and physical exam. If there is a time lag waiting for the results, quarantine the child at home. Spoil them. They like Carlos & Gabby’s? Then get it for them. They deserve it. At least for a moment or two. The test results will come back soon enough (albeit not soon enough for your preteens and teens). Why is this (feel free to use the adjective “draconian”) step important? The reality is Covid has never
