Atlanta physician Dr. Michael Brooks believes the African American community needs to better educate itself about COVID-19. "As a community we need to take this disease very seriously and get tested, shelter in place, wear masks, protect yourself, and cover your mouth if you cough, and make sure that if you have any symptoms that are listed in the CDC guidelines you seek help immediately."
The symptoms are cough, fever, body aches, shortness of breath, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of sense of smell, and weakness. "If you have any of those symptoms" says Brooks, "please, please get tested and get help."
While the White House has presented a three-phase plan to reopen the country, Brooks, CEO and President of The Family Health Centers of Georgia, thinks it's early to be talking about reopening the country especially in Georgia. "We expect this thing to peak in Georgia around the First of May which means this is an active disease in our community that is aggressively being spread in our community." Brooks adds, "
As of Sunday night, the Georgia Department of Public Health indicated there were 18,157 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the state. Of that number 3,426 are hospitalizations. There have been 681 deaths. Dr. Brooks says African Americans are about 50% of the deaths in Georgia. Blacks make up 31.3 percent of the state's population.
The Atlanta physician says the community has to demand the same protections as others, such as "that our employers give us masks because we are the frontline workers. We are more susceptible to getting this disease." We are also more likely to ride public transportation, to which Brooks says adds to the "high density areas where social distancing is more challenging."
Pre-existing chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, says Fisher, need to be "broken down into what we can understand." We instead use terms such as "sugar" and "pressure", and have a disproportionate high incidence of asthma in our community, which Brooks says makes us more at risk for the coronavirus.
Earlier comments by U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams hinting that blacks are affected by the coronavirus disproportionately, partly because of drugs and alcohol use, have been met with fierce criticism.
"We need to stop co-habiting at other people's houses" says Brooks. As children are at from school, he says that he sees plenty of young kids going back and forth between houses. "When we say 'shelter in place' that means stay at your home because you can bring something from your home to my home", adds Brooks. And if there's an elderly person in the home, "they are more likely to die from the disease."
While testing is now underway at The Family Health Centers of Georgia's main location at 868 York Avenue in southwest Atlanta, Brooks says the availability of test kits has been a big deterrent. "It has been a struggle to gain access to COVID-19 tests." Brooks says they are working with lab companies to really be able to make an impact in the community for tests.
Those wanting a screening for testing should call 1-800-935-6721. Brooks says they are doing drive-thru and walk-up testing.
