OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – An infectious disease doctor is warning Oklahomans about what to expect as the state starts to reopen.
“We have probably reached the peak of hospitalizations for now, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t see another resurgence in the future. We have not yet passed the peak of deaths because we’re still seeing and recording deaths in Oklahoma,” said Dr. Douglas Drevets, Chief of Infectious Disease at OU Medicine.
Drevets says when you look at similar types of infections, we will more than likely have a second and possibly third wave of infections.
“Other circulating coronaviruses that we have do have a seasonality that is like influenza, which means that it picks up in the winter months,” said Drevets.
He says an example is back in 2009 with the swine flu because there was a surge when schools re-opened.
He expects the need for masks in the healthcare sector to continue until a vaccine is available.
“Or until we have some sort of a different system so we know that all the healthcare providers and all the patients that we’re working with are not carrying the virus,” he said.
Two of the ways you can protect yourself and others as the state reopens are to wear a mask and continue to practice social distancing.
“So part of it is just using some common sense. Part of it is also really trying to take care of other people, because you really never know what the health status of somebody else is,” he said.
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