Second COVID-19 wave is worse, warns Bartlett

As of Tuesday, August 11, 2020

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

Dr Frank Bartlett, the coordinator at the GB Health Services COVID-19 Task Force has revealed that patients contracting the coronavirus in the second wave are “more sicker” and are hospitalized “much longer” than those in the first wave.

He also disclosed that manning multiple sites with staff to cope with the crisis are an issue in Grand Bahama, where active COVID-19 cases are nearing 400.

Dr Bartlett gave an update on COVID-19 in Grand Bahama last Thursday during a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in Freeport.

He said the health team has recommended an extension on the lockdown restriction that is currently in place.

“Patients in the second wave, unlike what we would have seen in the first wave of COVID in the population, are staying much longer and they tend to be much sicker,” Dr Bartlett said.

Dr Bartlett indicated that there is still a lot of things the medical profession is learning about the virus.

He said that the jury is still out concerning the reinfection of COVID-19. “(There are) some preliminary data that suggest you do have some, but it varies,” he said.

When asked about the common cold and flu, Dr Bartlett said that physicians are so COVID-sensitive now that they tend to forget that there are other possibilities. “For us, we have to remind physicians there are things others than COVID that could present - that is a challenge all over. There is not a single day that goes by - it is challenging and foremost in everyone’s minds.”

DDK 4 years, 3 months ago

"more sicker????

Porcupine 4 years, 3 months ago

I know. That popped out at me too.

joeblow 4 years, 3 months ago

... they may be "more sicker", but they ain't deadin' faster, so how can this be worse than the first wave? Maybe the doctors should stop talkin'!

Secondly, is this another strain of virus and have they checked to find out?

rodentos 4 years, 3 months ago

they are just "more more" of everything

Linlo 4 years, 3 months ago

Ouch. “More sicker”? I guess worse than more sicker is “most sicker”?

Economist 4 years, 3 months ago

Does he put this down to the patients age, weight etc?

Is the virus mutating in The Bahamas and becoming more virulent?

Other countries seem to be getting better at treating patients so wat is going on here?

proudloudandfnm 4 years, 3 months ago

The virus mutated a couple of months ago abd the mutated version is much more contagious...

rodentos 4 years, 3 months ago

no, but he forgot to mention Bill Gates sent us the free update to covid20

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

It's an odd statement. Maybe the patients infected in the 2nd wave have more serious comorbidities. I don't know if it's the reporter taking the information or the information itself, but the data just appears to be less than scientific

Proguing 4 years, 3 months ago

Of course people are more sicker. Being stuck indoor during the first lockdown watching Netflix and eating canned food all day is not healthy. I've gained 10 pounds myself!

rodentos 4 years, 3 months ago

lock down is killing even the healthy ones

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

lol. You know you could put yourself in a schedule for eating. Force yourself onto a 2hr eating cycle. breakfast .2hrs. snack. 2hrs. lunch. 2 hrs. snack. 2 hrs. supper. And don't pig out on any meal.

Add to that no eating after a certain hour or no eating before a certain hour. Eventually you'll get used to it. And as always ask the doctor if what you're doing is ok.

I typically don't eat before 11AM. Depending on how engrossed I am in work that could turn into 1PM. Don't eat after 8PM. I've lost 10lbs. I am not offering that schedule as medical advice just saying what I do. It's not an intentional thing just focused on work.

tribanon 4 years, 3 months ago

Ever heard the expression: "All others are not you."

After all, there can only be one of you - unless you happen to be an identical twin.

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

lol. correct but even an identical twin isn't you.

"And as always ask the doctor if what you're doing is ok.....I am not offering that schedule as medical advice just saying what I do."

thps 4 years, 3 months ago

Up until July GB had 8 cases. Since then GB had 421 more cases.'

Is Dr comparing a sample of 421 vs. a sample of 8?

Maybe the '2nd wave' is simply more representative?

For you maths and stats nerds, even if we're looking at the full numbers, Is the initial sample of 100 vs the recent 800 a fair comparison?

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

I'm no math or stats nerd but I suspect they wouldn't call either a sample because the individuals aren't being randomly chosen. A professor in the US presented an interesting approach to testing the population recently. Organize people into groups, say everyone working in the accounts and marketing department or everyone at the company depending on how large your group sample is. Combine their saliva samples and run a single test. If that sample returns a positive test then test people individually to find the culprit. If the sample returns negative assume everyone in the group is negative. It could cut down on the number of tests performed and result in faster and greater coverage of the entire population

Porcupine 4 years, 3 months ago

I am passing this along. Seems like some sound advice.

    Subject: From a professor of pharmacy at U of Toronto sent this clearly worded update to his family


    For this pandemic there’s a greater chance of survival for those getting infected 3 months later like June 2020 than those who got infected 3 months earlier say February 2020. The reason for this is that Doctors and scientists know more about Covid-19 now than 3 months ago and hence are able to treat patients better. I will list *5 important things* that we know now that we didn’t know in February 2020 for your understanding.

    1. COVID-19 was initially thought to cause deaths due to *pneumonia- a lung infection*- and so Ventilators were 
    thought to be the best way to treat sick patients who couldn’t breathe. *Now we are realizing that the virus causes 
    blood clots in the blood vessels of the lungs* and other parts of the body and this causes the reduced oxygenation
    Now we know that just providing oxygen by ventilators will not help but we have to prevent and dissolve the micro 
    clots in the lungs. This is why we are using drugs like *Aspirin and Heparin ( blood thinners that prevents clotting)  as protocol in treatment regimens in June 2020. *

    2. Previously patients used to drop dead on the road or even before reaching a hospital due to reduced oxygen in 
    their blood- OXYGEN SATURATION. This was because of *HAPPY HYPOXIA*- where even though the oxygen 
    saturation was gradually reducing the COVID-19 patients did not have symptoms until it became critically less, like 
    sometimes even 70%. **Normally we become breathless if oxygen saturation reduces below 90%. **This 
    breathlessness is not triggered in Covid patients and so we were getting the sick patients very late to the hospitals in February 2020. Now since knowing about happy hypoxia we are monitoring oxygen saturation of all covid patients *with a simple home use pulse oximeter and getting them to hospital if their oxygen saturation drops to 93% or less*. This gives more time for doctors to correct the oxygen deficiency in the blood and a better survival chance in June 2020.

    3. We did not have drugs to fight the corona virus in February 2020. We were only treating the complications caused
    by it... hypoxia. Hence most patients became severely infected. 
    ```**Now we have 2 important medicines FAVIPIRAVIR & REMDESIVIR**```

    These are ANTIVIRALS that can kill the corona virus. By using these two medicines we can prevent patients from becoming severely infected and therefore cure them BEFORE THEY GO TO HYPOXIA. This knowledge we have in JUNE 2020... not in February 2020.

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

said months ago misuse of ventilators was killing people. Id also say blood thinners arent a cure all. I was told that because the virus attacks tissue and can thus affect any organ, you treat what the patient presents. There's no one treatment for everybody ... yet. This indivudual was saying this from back in April. Told me stay away from crowds and do not end up on a ventilator, you're dead. Not enough know how to use them and too many who should know how, don't.

bahamianson 4 years, 3 months ago

Sicker is the correct word without more being placed in front of it.

tribanon 4 years, 3 months ago

The longer hospital stays are attributable to the poor care Covid-19 patients are now receiving as a result of our medical doctors and other healthcare workers being under-resourced, totally overwhelmed and very much exhausted.

The abysmal failure of Minnis to address important matters and properly plan for the worse, combined with his lack of leadership skills and many most foolish and stupid decisions, leave him as the principal culprit for the terrible predicament our country finds itself in today. Many Bahamian lives will be lost by the time all is said and done because of Minnis.

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

Minnis waits for everything to go to crisis mode then he steps in like he's the only one who can solve it. Watch for the next disaster. The day they open the wash houses. But noone could have foreseen it...so..

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