Tuesday May 26 - Update from Dr. W

Happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, the unofficial start to summer.  Admittedly, it felt a little different with the cloud of Covid hanging over us.  But from what I can tell, things are normalizing in Charleston every day. 

I just thought I'd give a quick Covid update as we get back into the swing of our old routines.  The numbers of new cases reported daily remain fairly stable.  In fact, they were slightly elevated last week.  So Covid has not disappeared! 

However, the numbers of new cases were not dramatically higher, and it is hard to tell exactly what these daily case numbers really mean since more tests are being performed.  What is noteworthy, though, is the fact that the daily death rate is stable, and slightly lower. 

Most of the daily deaths reported remain elderly patients, with the midlands and the upstate reporting most of the cases. Hospital occupancy data reported by DHEC continues to show open beds at our local hospitals.  This is good news since it means that the health care system is not being over-burdened.  I personally think that the next few weeks will be telling. 

As people seem to be socializing more, going to restaurants, and abandoning their masks, if the death rates and hospital utilization numbers do not increase, then I think we'll be in good shape. 

But I do feel that continued caution is needed.  We will continue to abide by Covid precautions in the office until further notice. 

Have a great week, and as always, feel free to call us with any questions!

Dr. Heidi Williams