Please No Hugs during Coronavirus

Social distancing has become the new normal during this time of the Coronavirus world health pandemic.  As we have learned, maintaining a six-foot distance between others is helping to stop the spread of the respiratory virus.  That’s fine outside the home, but what about family and friends? What are the guidelines for interacting with them? Mountain Lakes Medical Center Director of Emergency Services Dr. Michael Hollifield says please no hugs during the Coronavirus.  “The virus seems to be having a predilection in the elderly for serious illness and so it is possible for a child to be a carry maybe to be infected with the virus and give it to a grandparent and the grandparent then gets critically ill or dies from the disease.  Say the grandparent has COPD and heart disease and things of that nature, then the grandparent could then get COVID-19 and have serious consequences.”  Eight out of ten deaths reported in the U.S. have been in adults 65 years old and older.  The CDC reports that people with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.  These are the most common symptoms that may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus; fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, and repeated shaking with chills.  If you develop these symptoms, call your healthcare provider immediately.