You’re not the only one who's getting worn out by the pandemic.
“I’m sick of it, to be honest. I’m tired of not going home. I’m tired of not traveling. I’m tired of not going out to restaurants.”
The words of Hennepin County Medical Center director of medicine, and host of WCCO’s “Healthy Matters,” Dr. David Hilden.
This comes eight months into the pandemic and as Gov. Walz talks about the next six to twelve weeks being the toughest time period of them all.
“We can make these next 6-to-12 weeks not so bad,” he told Dave Lee on the WCCO Morning News. “They’re not going to be great, in any case.”
What’s needed, Dr. Hilden believes, is a will to face down the virus.
“I wish we all got together as a community and all said, ‘you know, we got this.’ We really could control this thing,.”
Tough words from someone who’s been on the front lines treating COVID patients almost since day 1.
“We have to fight that fatigue, not let our guard down, don’t get complacent,” said Hilden, adding, with emphasis, that avoiding large gatherings is a top priority.
That means gatherings up to 250 people, under state guidelines.
“If you do gather, wear a mask, for heaven’s sake,” he said.
“If you don’t, you’re not playing along with everyone, and your personal decisions are going to affect the rest of us.”
Dr. Hilden quoted one report that suggest up to 700 lives could be saved in Minnesota over the next several months if we continue to mask up. He pointed to another survey showing positive cases skyrocketing in neighboring states—Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota—where mask use isn’t as high as in Minnesota.
“Studies bear that out,” he said. “It’s not perfect but it’s one tool in our toolbox, and it’s an effective one to reduce the rate.”
