My fourth COVID-19 test

“Please kindly go away, I’m introverting.” 

—Beth Buelow, Author

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE day I decided to take my fourth coronavirus disease 2019 (COIVD-19) test on November 19 in New York City, was the same day the United States neared 252,000 new coronavirus infections as the pandemic claimed its highest daily death toll since May 7, 2020.

Together with a friend who suspected he had been infected while taking a daily ride in the subway train, I visited the CityMD, a health center, in Jackson Heights, Queens at past 10 o’clock in the morning for the swab test.

THE author (right) and his friend. 

Enduring a long line and a cold temperature, we were able to finally enter the health center at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon.  

CityMD locations all over New York City have been experiencing hour-long lines of eager New Yorkers awaiting coronavirus tests since the cold season started.

Residents wanting to make sure they would not be included in the statistics of COVID-19 cases, have once again populated the landscape of the city as infections rise and concerns of spread linger through each borough. 

Our visit was timely since all CityMD locations close 90 minutes earlier starting Monday, Nov. 16, the company announced in a statement, citing a months-long strain on medical staff and doctors.

 

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My friend, in his early 50s and doesn’t have pre-existing conditions, had a rapid test and got the result sent through e-mail some 30 minutes after we walked out from the CityMD.

My result will be known after three days. 

I had previous COVID-19 tests in New Jersey (once) and in New York City (twice) in the last three months.

The 182,832 new cases reported Thursday (November 19) represent an all-time high, according to a report in the Washington Post.

More than 170,100 new cases were reported Wednesday.

A high in current COVID-19 hospitalizations (about 81,000) threatened again to push the United States’ health-care system to the brink in several states, as state public health officials worried about reaching ICU bed capacity. 

Thursday was the ninth day in a row that hospitalization numbers have reportedly set records.

From coast to coast, stricter measures have been put in place in an effort to control the rate of infection. 

New York City officials announced that schools would close temporarily to in-person instruction beginning November 19; in California, a curfew will require most residents to stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The new restriction goes into effect on November 21, Saturday, and lasts through Dec. 21, 2020.

There are 11.8 million cases in the United States and some 252,000 have died as of November 20.

 

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) issued one of its sternest warnings to date, urging Americans not to travel unnecessarily for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

For those who do gather, families have been encouraged to gather outdoors, wear masks and keep a distance of at least six feet from others.

Because the case-fatality rate has stayed fixed for so long and there are now so many reported cases, predicting the virus’s death toll in the near term has become a matter of brutal arithmetic: 150,000 cases a day, times 1.5 percent, will lead to 2,250 daily deaths. 

In the spring, the seven-day average of daily deaths rose to its highest point ever on April 21, when it reached 2,116 deaths. 

With cases rising as fast as they are, the U.S. could cross the threshold of 2,000 daily deaths within a month. Without a miraculous improvement in care, the United States is about to face the darkest period of the pandemic so far.

The new estimates were prepared by Trevor Bedford, a genomic epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, using data from the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, which compiles the cases and deaths that states report. 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, was a former editor of two dailies in Iloilo, Philippines)

 

 

 

 

Lucky to be tested negative for third time

“Care and diligence bring luck.”

—Thomas Fuller

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I GOT lucky to be tested negative for the third time in as many COVID-19 tests in three months here in the United States: On July 31 at MidExpress Clinic in New Jersey; on October 2 at CityMD Urgent Care in Jackson Heights, New York City; and finally on October 21 at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, New York City.

ALEX P. VIDAL

The last coronavirus test was mandatory for all patients in the emergency room (ER) now that there’s a reported uptick of new COVID-19 cases not only in New York but also across the American heartland starting on October 22 with 79,000 new cases in a single day.

I landed in the ER on October 21 after suffering from a difficulty of breathing after inhaling a large amount of suspected Clorox and other disinfectants while cleaning a closed bathroom in the Upper West Manhattan on October 20.

Obstruction to airflow can occur anywhere along the passageway that the air we breathe takes from entering the nose and mouth, through the trachea (windpipe in our throats), through the bronchial tubes and tiny airways in the lungs. 

Sudden blockage of airways is a medical emergency and can be caused by inhaling objects, food particles or fluids.

My condition actually had nothing to do with the pandemic, but the hospital medical staff nonetheless required me to “isolate for at least 10 days” after the test pending the result.

 

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There seemed to be a creeping paranoia among medical professionals who didn’t want anymore a repeat of the nightmarish moments in March, April, and May when the pandemic wreaked its deadliest havoc in this community.

When the result came out last October 23, I thought there was no need for me anymore to proceed with the “isolation” period; but I shouldn’t let my guards down. 

Like most New Yorkers, I must continue to strictly observe the social distancing and wearing of mask in public while the coronavirus vaccine is still being perfected.

While I went through a hellish moment over the week, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  

"To give you an idea of the progress we've made with New York's micro-clusters, the positivity rates in Brooklyn, Rockland and Orange Counties are all down this week,” the governor announced. 

“That is great news. It says the focus works, and it says we can get the positivity under control. As we saw with Queens this past week, we get the numbers down and we then open up the areas.”

He added: "Context is everything here. We're seeing a real national surge, and we are battling that national surge, that national high tide. We're fighting it because although we like to think we control our own destiny, we still have people coming from around the country into New York. The numbers nationwide are really high and getting higher, so we have to be extra vigilant here in New York and continue being smart." 

The governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 3.18 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 1.06 percent. 

Within the focus areas, 16,614 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 528 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 104,215 test results were reported, yielding 1,104 positives.

 

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WE BADLY NEED THESE PRAYERS: Father, I pray for (myself) and others in my circle of family and friends who are carrying heavy loads... Your Word says an anxious heart weighs a person down, and this is how I think they must feel—as if they're carrying heavy loads, more than they can bear. When they feel upset and beside themselves, calm them down and comfort them with the assurance of Your love. 

Help them not be overwhelmed by anxious thoughts. (Proverbs 12:25a; Psalm 94:19) Our hearts are not supposed to be troubled; but that's their struggle—help them trust.

You and the Lord Jesus, as I know they must. Help them understand that You are the One who makes a way when things seem impossible; nothing is too hard for You! (John 14:27; Isaiah 43:19; Jeremiah 32:17; Luke 1:37) Help them be faithful to You and to the way You want them to live, for You guard the lives of those who are faithful; You protect them and never turn away from them. 

Help them know You as their fortress, as the rock in whom they take refuge, as One who is good, whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 2:8; Psalm 37:28; 94:22; 100:5)

In Jesus' name, amen.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)