I was working my usual night shift when I saw my first case related to the coronavirus 2019 pandemic a few weeks ago. A parent brought in his child for an evaluation because of congestion and a cough. The child had been seen at a clinic, and for some reason had had a full respiratory viral panel swab run - these tests are quite expensive and typically not necessary for a person with mild symptoms, because there is no specific treatment for most of the viruses on the test. The father had received a call saying that the panel returned positive for "coronavirus", apparently without further clarification.
"I thought 'fine'," he told me, "but then I was watching TV and I saw them saying the coronavirus is very dangerous!" I offered him reassurance. The coronavirus on our regular respiratory virus panel is not the "new coronavirus" otherwise known as COVID19. There is no specific treatment for either the old coronavirus or the new one, so I encouraged him to continue keeping his child well hydrated and washing his hands to prevent disease spread.
The worried well have the potential to contribute to overwhelming the healthcare system in a pandemic. Those with mild symptoms should stay home - they risk infecting others or picking up new infections in the healthcare environment, beyond the additional strain they place on the system by their presence.
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