MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Gov. Bill Lee announced the first case of coronavirus in Tennessee in Williamson County on Thursday.
Two healthcare professionals told WREG’s Quametra Wilborn that some patients think they might be protected from the coronavirus, but they aren’t.
“People are going to become more and more concerned because we’ve already had people that say that they have traveled on airplanes, and they’re concerned about being exposed to people while they travel,” family nurse practitioner Polly Scholze said.
Scholze and nurse practitioner Penney Williams said they’ve treated several patients who have come to them with fears of having the deadly novel coronavirus, though those fears were unfounded.
Williams and Scholze said they fear the fact that the virus is in Tennessee is going to cause even more concern among patients who have viral illnesses such as cough, fever and body aches, which all common symptoms of the coronavirus.
They said people who are most at risk are the elderly or those with chronic diseases.
“They’ve been sick for a long time, and they’re not getting better,” Scholze said. “They don’t have the flu, but they still are having viral symptoms, so they come in, and they’re concerned that they may have corona and not know it.”
Williams said she understands the concern; however, she doesn’t want people to overreact.
For example, she said face masks and hand sanitizer are flying off the shelves in stores. She said all the orders her clinic has made for masks are on back-order due to the high demand.
But Williams and Scholze said they’re not as effective as people may think.
“Everyone walking around with the masks, you’re not necessarily protecting yourself from that individual because if they’re coughing six feet from you, that droplet’s going out into the air and could land on your clothes and surrounding surfaces,” Williams said.
Both practitioners said the best way to protect yourself is to keep your hands and all surfaces clean. They said if you are feeling sick with a fever or cough, you should stay home and call your health service provider.
