The number of Americans infected with coronavirus is growing faster than my hoard of Werther’s
Originals. Don’t look at me like that. No one’s gonna miss them. I wanted to learn
more about what’s happening in the hospitals right now
so I did a video call with an E.R. doctor who is out there on the front lines.
This is Dr. Shuhan He who works at Boston’s Mass General. I’m 90% sure he wasn’t wearing
pants for this interview. But, then again, I wasn’t either.
What are you seeing out there? Because I’ve seen nothing and I’m terrified.
- We really started to see this weekend a really significant uptick of incredibly sick
patients. So patients coming in back to back to back to back needing to get ventilated
and intubated and then sent to the ICU. That’s not something we see with any other disease.
Does coronavirus exclusively affect older people? Or can it also, let’s say, hit like,
late night TV hosts and their staff? Or whatever. - So, everyone is part of this. Something
like 20% of the 25- to 44-year-olds are getting incredibly sick and hospitalized. 20- to 44-year-olds
very ever rarely get hospitalized for anything. And that’s really scary. I thought talking
about this was gonna make me feel better! And sadly the number of people with coronavirus
is increasing every day. And scientists are racing to keep up.
Can you tell us—how does coronavirus spread? - It’s formally spread through drops. The
question, scientifically, has always been how small are those particles and how long
do they live in the air? There was some science last week that showed if someone had a cloud
of coronavirus, right? From coughing. That it could stick in the air for an hour to three
hours. It can stay on surfaces for up to days. I wish that I had half the determination and
perseverance that COVID-19 has. - It would be incredible, wouldn’t it?
What can we as normal, frightened humans do to prevent this virus from spreading?
- The first is wash your hands. The second is don’t go out to things you don’t need
to go out to, and if you do go out, make sure you’re not sick. It doesn’t matter what
city you live in, what state you live in. If one person is sick, they will transmit
it. That is how diseases and illnesses work. We’re all in this together right now.
- Does “we” also include Rand Paul? Because he went to the gym.
I always knew that I hated him for a reason and here we go.
While state governments are taking this seriously, the federal government is dragging its heels
compared to other countries that flattened the curve—nations like South Korea, Germany
and even human-rights-repressing China. What does the government of China do when
someone emerges with a case of this virus? - When people have the virus, they get isolated
from the people they love. Where do they get placed?
- Hotels. Do you think we could use Trump hotels for
that or is there just too much gonorrhea on the TV remotes and that would be too scary
and dangerous? - There’s a lot of hotels out there. I’m
sure they’ll figure something out. It’s a wild world when Trump hotels are
the solution, not the problem. - What’s scary about this is that doctors
will start to have symptoms, and they won’t be able to go to work. We need more of a core
infrastructure to help everyone and supplies to prevent us getting sick. That’s frankly
selfish of me and maybe Darwinian, right? I need to survive.
Yes, you do need to survive. You all need to survive. Please survive.
- So I need things like face shields, goggles, masks, hairnets, gowns to protect me so I
don’t get sick. And this is why Dr. He founded getusppe.org,
a website that connects healthcare workers with suppliers and donors to assist in getting
the personal protective equipment that they need to help fight coronavirus. Because if
we can’t save the doctors, they can’t save us.
Thank you so much for talking, let’s social distance high five!
Ready? - Yeah!
Go! - Like that?
Like that? - Wait so… No no no. Is it like this?
If you have protective equipment and masks at home or the ability to sew some, go to
getusppe.org to learn how to donate it.