A St. Luke’s doctor answered a number of questions about the current pandemic and what Carbon County residents can do to stay safe.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners heard from Dr. Jeff Jahre, senior vice president of medical affairs for St. Luke’s University Health Network.

The board said they asked Jahre to call in to help educate the county residents on COVID-19.

Jahre said before answering the commissioners’ questions that the information is changing almost daily so what he had at that time was the latest in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.

“This is a novel coronavirus so there is not a lot of experience with this, so recommendations are changing, sometimes on a constant basis,” he said.

The following are summarized answers to the questions the commissioners asked Jahre.

Q: When a person tests positive, when is that person considered fully recovered?

Jahre: The standard that is being used now by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the CDC is in general that you can return to normal activities after seven days after the onset of symptoms, you don’t have a fever that is being controlled by medications for at least three days and you are generally feeling better.

Generally feeling better, Jahre defined as if you had a very bad cough and now it is mild, you are feeling better.

He stressed that while this new virus has some similar symptoms, patients should also check with their primary physician.

Q: What is the normal return time on test results that are being done in Carbon?

Jahre: The answer is different from a few days ago. St. Luke’s can now do some in-house testing and received kits to do that but must complete the verification process first. This means that once a specimen is received, results can be in as little as an hour possibly.

Jahre also said that St. Luke’s has been entering into verbal contracts with some commercial labs that if there is a very vital case, that testing turnaround could be in less than two days.

State labs also have certain types of testing, especially for someone who is in a group setting like a nursing home or prison where there could be a rapid community spread. Those tests are returned in around 24 hours.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of progress made and hopefully the turnaround time which was as long as seven days is down to at least two days or hopefully an hour or so.”

Q: Where do we see Carbon County in the bell curve in this pandemic?

Jahre: We’re all in this together. There is no separation right now. The only separation of any kind are the hot zones where the greatest concentration of cases are.

Monroe has been a hot zone for us and we know why. Almost every case in Monroe was directly related to someone from New York City or northern New Jersey or traveled to those areas.

That still remains the case to a large degree but it has spread out to include Carbon, Lehigh, so we have to assume that we are all next.

St. Luke’s has the ability to shift staff, supplies and even patients where necessary so an area that is hard-pressed won’t feel a burden and can spread out the issues. As far as bending the curve, we are all involved in that. Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order is extremely essential to help us flatten the curve so we don’t get a surge that can overwhelm a health care system. We want you to stay home. You are going to get this disease primarily if you come in contact with someone who has it.

Q: We know the main symptoms but what are other symptoms of COVID-19?

Jahre: In the beginning, we had a fairly focused screening system that we would not test you unless you had exposure or traveled to a hot zone area. That is going out the window as the disease has spread.

We don’t test someone who has no symptoms, the people who would be tested are whoever have any symptom that is not attributable to another known cause such as allergies.

On the other hand, the one symptom that we know that is prevalent is fever, and that can be as little as 99.8 but generally looking for over 100. Sometimes can be for a few hours and others several days.

There is some evidence that you can be contagious about 48 hours before symptoms start. It’s an individualized thing. Call your primary doctor if you have any symptoms because they know you and your background.

They will go through screening questions and decide if you need a virtual visit. If you have no primary care doctor, call St. Luke’s and they will go through the screening.

The answer is not a simple one, it has to be individualized because symptoms vary.

Q: Other messages other than stay at home?

Jahre: People who don’t have symptoms don’t need to be tested.

Your first line of questioning if you have a primary care doctor, is that doctor.

With this absolute emphasis on COVID-19, we don’t want people to neglect their routine care. We are open for business so don’t neglect your non-COVID-19 care. Be in touch with your physician.

Community spread is everywhere we have to assume. We tell people to act as if you have the disease and don’t know it. That’s why we want people to be socially distant.

Q: Advice for people who have to go out for essentials?

Jahre: Only go out when you absolutely have to. If you can do it on one occasion do that. When you are out and near people stay apart. If you’re out and in a closed area, if you have to cough or sneeze, make sure it is contained.

Q: Should I wear a mask or bandanna when leaving the house?

Jahre: It doesn’t take the place of the distancing. By wearing that mask though, we know that it will help if we actually have it and not give it to someone else. I don’t think it’s a bad idea.

Those masks have to be clean and it could be anything that is cloth. That will help to contain the droplets if you have the disease.