It’s a mantra the chairman of the governor’s Physicians Advisory Group is hoping the government will adopt as it attempts to get a handle on the coronavirus pandemic on Guam.
“Right now they don’t have any way to track to see who truly called the patient within a certain time frame. So that’s the challenging part is how are they going to monitor the performance to make sure that they meet the manpower or they work efficiently enough to make sure that they contact the positive patient on time?” asked Dr. Hoa Nguyen, the chairman of the advisory group.
The Department of Public Health and Social Services has been struggling to contact each Covid-19 patient and get their information entered into the system for surveillance, isolation and contact tracing in 24 to 48 hours.
Instead, Nguyen said, the process is taking closer to five to seven days.
Public Health is also struggling to timely release individuals from isolation and quarantine waiting to be cleared to go back to work. Nguyen said clinics are starting to do it now because DPHSS is “really overwhelmed.”
“DPHSS needs to issue the letter of clearance but they’re so far behind that those are not given on time,” he said.
Nguyen suggested that local employers accept the clinic note so recovered patients can return to work.
With new Covid-19 cases in the double to triple digits recently and Covid-19-related deaths reported almost daily, the physician suggested, “The key is to work smarter, not harder. We’re going to be in this for the next year or two until a vaccine or treatment comes. The question is how to move forward and make it more efficient.”
One of the issues of frustration has been the delays in the government’s procurement process and requests for proposals. He said that has delayed efforts.
“We don’t have time. There are more sick people and the hospital is overwhelmed,” the physician stated.
When asked if he feels the current lockdown efforts are effective, Nguyen replied, “You can’t put any more restrictions on the community, and I don’t think that’s the direction (the governor is) moving to. She has done all she can already, but I think she needs everyone in Guam to abide by the executive order. It’s everybody’s responsibility at this point.”
It was a sentiment shared by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero in a conference call recently with U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.
“To win, our front-liners must be in the community, not in the clinics and not in the hospitals. I know many of us are tired and we long for our lives before Covid-19, but that mindset will be our downfall,” said Leon Guerrero. “(Surviving) this virus does not mean going back to business as usual, it means adopting best practices to protect ourselves and our community for the foreseeable future.”
Adams said Guam had once been lauded for its efforts to contain Covid-19, calling the territory “exemplars of how to control the virus.”
He said he believed the island was nearing the “finish line” and could get the virus under control in four to six weeks, if “we all make a commitment to doing the right things.”
Dr. Felix Cabrera has said there would be a new initiative in time for Christmas.
“This will be a test like no other. I know our people and I know that we will get through this,” the governor said.
Nguyen said clinics are still finding that most people are contracting the virus from visiting each other.
“All the positives are coming from family gatherings,” he said. “Multi-family homes are not the problem. Changing the people, not mingling from one house to the next, that’s where the true spread in the community is happening.”
He said residents are experiencing fatigue and lowering their guard and visiting friends and relatives, not realizing they’re spreading the virus from house to house.
“If everyone can restrict them from visiting each other for two weeks, you will see a great decrease in the positive cases in the community, but that takes an effort by everyone,” said Nguyen. “Everybody is the front line. The clinic and the hospital are the last line. We need people to refocus.”
He pleaded with the public to stay home, especially when not feeling well.
“If you’re sick, stay away from family members. It’s not a common cold. Try to stay home and not visit anyone. We (can) move forward and curb this virus,” he said.
