Sanford Health Infectious Disease Physician, Dr. Avish Nagpal, joins Amy & JJ to talk about COVID-19 in North Dakota.
Expecting a Spike
First, he says, “we are okay… we are in a good position right now”. However, he says they are expecting a surge in patients. Most of Cass County’s testing are pending, so he believes the reported COVID-19 cases are far less than actual numbers. But, he doesn’t want the community to be alarmed when the numbers do spike, he says this is what they expected. It doesn’t mean we are having a surge, it means the pending cases are finally getting their results. Until test results become more timely, we can’t use them as an indication of a surge in cases.
Advantages to Living in North Dakota
Dr. Nagpal also says there are a few advantages to living here: we are not densely populated, we have been testing already, businesses and schools have already been closed for a few weeks, and we have already started social distancing. While this doesn’t mean we’ve detected all the cases, we may be in a better place than most other places. We have had more time to prepare.
In addition, there has been time to make sure our hospitals are ready with more bed capacity and they have acquired more personal protective gear.
Testing
Sanford in Sioux Falls, SD now has in-house testing and they are working on getting testing in Fargo, ND as well. At this time, it takes about 8 hours to run the test.
Dr. Nagpal says he would love to see the 45 minute test become available. They are actively seeking this for Sanford and he says the machine exists already to run influenza tests.
What Should Patients Know
Sanford is ramping up telemedicine to continue routine care for patients. Dr. Nagpal advises you to call ahead to see if telemedicine is available if you have an appointment.
Dr. Nagpal also takes listeners questions – listen to the podcast posted above.
Additional content:
PODCAST: NDSU’s Dr. Paul Carson on COVID-19 (3/24/20 Update)
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