The dark side of quarantines, Covid anxiety and who's in charge

Suicides have bumped up locally along with drug hospitalizations. Domestic abuse cases are rising, along with trauma cases. But, contrary to some concerns voiced in online commentary, a group of local officials are, in fact, meeting daily to chart a course for Cape Girardeau County, analyzing local numbers while listening to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, White House task force and Missouri governor. Here is information about these topics and more, answering questions asked by Southeast Missourian readers.

Special thanks to Maria Davis with the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center for several responses. Some similar questions were also directed to representatives from Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Q: How are officials in Cape County coordinating around COVID-19 from deploying medical equipment to determining policy around stay-at-home orders?

According to Davis: "The Cape Girardeau County Emergency Operations Center was activated on March 10th and this includes a conference call every morning with Cape County Public Health, Cape County Emergency Management, local mayors, county commissioners, Saint Francis Medical Center, SoutheastHEALTH, Cross Trails Medical Center, SEMA, SEMO University, fire departments, police departments, local chambers, schools officials, etc.

"At the end of each day, each organization sends in a daily situation report, and we provide a case summary to the local media. On these calls, we discuss the daily situation reports, new cases, areas of concern, needed resources and next steps. We are all working together to address this global public health crisis. Every county and community in the United States and most countries around the world are struggling with the effects of COVID-19. Now is the time to come together as humans and support our leaders and community."

Q: Is Cape County concerned about suicides related to coronavirus? How can residents help?

"It is a difficult time, and we are concerned about suicides now more than ever," wrote Davis. "Cape County residents need to support each other. Help your neighbor, make donations if you can, volunteer, stay connected with loved ones and friends, take some time for yourself, and ultimately seek help when you need it. There is no shame in asking for help; we all need help sometimes. If you are experiencing emotional distress, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990. You can even text 'TalkWithUs' to 66746."

Q: Nationally, reports indicate that stay-at-home orders have been taking a toll on alcoholics, drug addicts and others who are unable to attend treatment groups. Are local health officials seeing any concerning spikes around meth cases, alcohol and drug use, or other health issues different but maybe affected by COVID-19?

"Measuring human behavior, such as increases in drug and alcohol use, is challenging to do in such a short period of time [at the public health center]," Davis wrote. "What we look for is increases in drug or alcohol-related arrests, deaths, and hospitalizations. However, this information is not reported to us on a monthly basis. ... What we do know is increased stress and anxiety, along with decreasing access to treatment, could significantly affect drug and alcohol use. We are very concerned with the toll that COVID-19 is having on our community. We believe our community is strong, compassionate, and creative, and we will get through this together!"

Q: The same question was asked to Saint Francis Healthcare System. Chad Garner, RN, BSN, CEN and director of emergency and trauma services, responded via Saint Francis marketing.

"Due to the 'stay-at-home' order issued on April 6, we have seen an increase in intoxication and overdoses (by drugs and/or alcohol), as well as domestic violence and suicide/suicide attempts," Garner was quoted.

"The largest increase we have seen in the Saint Francis Level III Trauma and Emergency Department compared to pre-COVID cases are trauma cases. Traumas typically increase around Memorial Day. As children and adults are away from school and work, we have seen a significant increase in traumas earlier than expected.

"Families and kids are getting restless! Some of the trauma injuries that we are seeing include: ATV accidents, Motor Vehicle Accidents due to family outings, falls/broken bones and lacerations."

Q: If I think I might have had coronavirus weeks ago and want to know in order to donate plasma, what should I do?

"There is a blood test that can help determine if someone has had COVID-19," Dr. Thomas Diemer, chief medical officer for Saint Francis, said via its marketing department. "At Saint Francis Healthcare System, we can perform the test with a physician order. Most individuals develop antibodies to COVID eight to eleven days after the onset of symptoms."

As a side note: SoutheastHEALTH is also offering antibody blood tests that determine whether an individual previously contracted coronavirus and is now recovered. Check with your health provider for more information.

Meanwhile, whether you've been diagnosed as having recovered or just want to give blood to help out, check the website: redcross.org/plasma4covid.

Finally, many readers have probably seen graphs of COVID-19 cases on a national or even state basis. Here are some graphs for Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties, constructed by the Southeast Missourian from data found at https://usafacts.org.

As you can see, Cape County has not experienced the type of "exponential" growth that strikes fear into health officials. But new cases also haven't stopped yet. For example, Perry County experienced an early spike and has leveled. Scott County is on a scary, fast rise. Cape County is steadily rising. With additional testing, we're not sure what will be revealed, but what is certain is that everyone should continue to take utmost precaution when interacting with others in public, and that includes wearing masks or face coverings, social distancing and washing hands frequently.

If more businesses and workplaces are going to open in the next few weeks, which is expected, it will be vital to maintain social distancing so as to prevent new spikes, which would likely lead to shutting down again (according to White House guidelines).

For now, until government and public health leaders give other guidance -- which may be different county to county -- everyone should still be following "stay-at-home" rules. For your health, walk outside, maintaining distance. And stay away from large gatherings. If in a grocery store or other essential merchant, wear a mask and keep safe separation. The more responsible we can all be individually during this period before therapeautics and a vaccine are available, the more the economy can be reopened.

Jon K. Rust is publisher of the Southeast Missourian.