Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 Important Updates, Mitigation Phase

Since our last-recorded podcast on COVID-19, the World Health Organization has named COVID-19 a pandemic. Given that our local supermarkets and retailers are still out of toilet paper, hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes, it is safe to say that public concern remains heightened.

Due to the rapidly changing nature of this situation, and the virus' spread throughout our local Colorado communities, we want to provide you with an update as we move from a containment to a mitigation strategy.

We have previously covered the clinical presentation of the coronavirus in pediatrics and what providers should do if their clinical suspicion is high. You can listen to those discussions on Season 3, episode 31 and episode 36.

Listen to a pediatric infectious disease physician discuss coronavirus updates

In this episode, we will cover the current epidemiology of COVID-19, answer questions that our listeners have submitted and provide resources to help you stay updated.

We are fortunate to have Sam Dominguez, MD, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Children's Hospital Colorado, join us again.

In this episode, our experts discuss:

• Number of growing cases outside of China
• Community spread of COVID-19 and how that changes our approach from a public health standpoint
• Lessons we can learn from other countries to help prevent overwhelming our healthcare system with severe cases of COVID-19
• Impact of COVID-19 infection on children
• Projected duration of coronavirus spread in the United States
• What primary care providers should be doing differently now that we have moved from a containment to mitigation strategy
• Moving from acute clinical care in the office toward virtual care resources such as phone triage and telemedicine
• How to approach the care of children who are immunocompromised or who have chronic underlying conditions and are at risk for more severe disease
• COVID-19 testing at Children's Colorado
• Continued importance of hand-washing and use of hand sanitizers many times a day
• Current travel recommendations, which include not traveling unless it's totally essential
• Importance of practicing social distancing measures across the country sooner rather than later

Treatment of infectious diseases at Children's Colorado

Our pediatric experts in the Infectious Disease program at Children's Colorado provide a breadth of expertise ranging from laboratory-based research to the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Pediatricians can treat many infectious diseases, but when unique or different symptoms are present, it's important to refer to a pediatric infectious disease specialist. We are prepared and ready to treat patients with suspected or confirmed 2019 novel coronavirus. Our clinical staff has been specially trained on how to identify, isolate and treat patients with this and other contagious illnesses.