The symptoms are almost identical in both diseases: fever, cough and general symptoms of the disease. There is, however, a distinction: only in the case of flu is there a cold. And the same rules apply to both infections to avoid infection. “We have a droplet infection that is transmitted by coughing and sneezing.” Whoever needs to sneeze should, according to Schmitzer, sneeze as far as possible. However, since a smear infection is also possible, for example when shaking hands, one should pay attention to regular hand washing. According to Schmitzer, breathing masks are not currently necessary. “In addition, the normal paper masks are not virus-proof anyway,” says Schmitzer.
Of course, crowds are always problematic with coronavirus and flu. “But you can get infected anywhere. So where do I stop? May I no longer drive a bus? No longer in a concert? I would have no concerns,” said the head of the health department.
In his opinion, people don’t panic at the moment. He sees this from the fact that no citizen has yet called the health department. “Only a few medical practices asked how they should behave.”
What he wants to give people when they are afraid of being infected is simple: If someone comes from the affected provinces in China or has met with such a person and notices the first symptoms within 14 days, he should inform the family doctor , “He’ll usually send him to the clinic right away,” says Schmitzer. “It is important that the person concerned or the family doctor inform the hospital beforehand so that it can prepare.”
The doctors will then first take a nose and throat swab and send it to a special laboratory together with lung secretions. “There is currently no quick test for general practitioners or hospitals, and most laboratories have yet to establish it,” says Schmitzer.
The treatment also hardly differs from that of flu: “We can only treat the symptoms, the patient has to cure the rest himself. And for those who have no previous illnesses or are older, the disease is very mild.”
The health department is informed of suspicions. “We try to identify all contact persons.” However, they would not be instructed immediately. “You need to measure fever twice a day and call us every day so we know what your health is.”
At the moment, Stefan Schmitzer sees no danger that real infections will also occur in the district. “But we are prepared for the virus to come to us too.”cyb
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