Doctor on The Coronavirus Front Line: Will Dallas-Fort Worth Stay Home For Me?

We know the real estate community is squeezed by what we have to do to stop the spread of the pandemic of coronavirus. But thank God we have technology, right? We have been in quarantine now for two weeks or more I’ve lost count. We have way more to go.

It’s a huge inconvenience: I hate losing my freedom and income. I am angry, I am anxious, I am grateful, I am (stir) crazy.

But I am most of all concerned over chatter I have witnessed behind the scenes in our real estate community — agents and real estate professionals complaining about quarantine, encouraging church & group attendances, spreading rumor & unsubstantiated information, much of it based on conspiracy theories and a distrust of science.

All this endangers us, including the physicians in our community who are on the frontline of this battle. Thus I wanted to share this news from a neighbor and working anesthesiologist, Dr. Lori Reed:

Will Dallas stay home for me?

Dallas County reported over 100 new COVID19 cases yesterday, which made April 8, 2020 the highest single day tally for new cases in North Texas. The numbers will continue to grow on a sharp incline for the next couple of weeks. The disease takes about eight days to become severe, so at the hospital we are expecting a surge in hospital admissions in a week or two and a surge in respiratory failure patients in two to three weeks. We are ready! For over a week now, the modeling has predicted 200% capacity for ICU beds which is completely manageable with a few adjustments, like converting areas normally used for elective surgery patients into ICUs.

If North Texas citizens keep up with the restrictions on gatherings and store closures, we will be able to continue to offer state-of-the-art treatment for you and your loved ones. At this rate, we will possibly not need to use the pop-up hospital at the convention center. This is great news because if you or your loved one gets ill from this, you have the best chance for survival in one of North Texas’ hospitals. We are doing so much better than NYC partly due to social distancing and partly because we have a booming healthcare industry in Dallas that can convert normal operations to crisis operations.

Please remember that people in their 30s, 40s, 50s are also losing their lives to this, which includes healthcare workers in a higher proportion than the general population. As a frontline physician, manageable numbers of ICU patients will directly improve my chances of surviving this pandemic.

As much as my self preservation instincts tell me to shelter at home, I’ll muster up the courage to go the hospital everyday for Dallas.

Will Dallas stay home for me?