COVID-19 Update With Hempstead County Health Officer Dr. Dale Goins
Hempstead County Health Officer Dr. Dale Goins says as of Monday afternoon there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hempstead County as of Monday afternoon but it was close. “There are confirmed cases in Arkadelphia and Texarkana…in our local area I think in the next week to two weeks we’ll see a number of cases and then gradually for several weeks it will escalate, then it will kind of level off and then start coming back down,” said Dr. Goins. He continued “I don’t think we’ve seen the worst of it by any chance right now. I think it’s just going to take a few more weeks for it to show up and those are the times we have to be particularly careful about not spreading it.” He said it appears to be more contagious than the usual flu we see each winter.
When it comes to seeking medical treatment, Dr. Goins says it’s best to call ahead. “They’ll give you directions on how to be evaluated. We’re still not testing everyone,” said Dr. Goins. He noted some of the key features have to do with whether you’re running fever, having symptoms in the chest, cough or shortness of breath, and whether you’ve had contact with someone who’ve had the virus. Dr. Goins also notes “As tests become more available you’ll find many places in the state are starting to do the drive-by testing. We still have a shortage in our area so we’ve had to be more selective”.
Dr. Goins thinks once the virus arrives locally, the public will need to be very strict on their personal interactions. “Right now, you’re seeing a lot of people still in the stores, out in the city, and going to work. But a couple of weeks we’re really going to have to be tighter on that, less social interactions, more isolation, that helps to keep it from spreading,” says Dr. Goins.
The doctor has served as county health officer about 15 years. He noted he interacts with the Health Department on health issues in the county. He noted counterparts in other counties have become very active with the COVID-19 situation. “I’m very impressed by the communication between the CDC, our state health department, from the state health department to our local health department, they’re pushing information out to the doctor’s offices, to the hospital. They are really doing a lot to inform us about what’s going on,” says Dr. Goins. He continued “Unfortunately it’s a very difficult thing to contain and to treat because there is no medicine that treats the virus itself…but the communication has been great”.
Dr. Goins says many people will have very mild symptoms such as a cough or shortness of breath. He continues, “If they start getting more significant respiratory symptoms, particularly a more productive cough or the shortness of breath becomes worse, and they continue to run a fever, that’s when they need to be evaluated”. Dr. Goins notes this is particularly true if they’re elderly and have conditions such as asthma, COPD, smoking, diabetes, heart disease. These patients, he notes, tend to get the worst forms of pneumonia and those are the ones that will require hospitalization.
Dr. Goins said the nursing homes have stopped all visitation and that’s to protect the people there. He also notes many of the churches are encouraging their elderly to stay home and are also running errands for them. Says Dr. Goins, “I think our community is responding well”.