COVID-19

There is probably no stopping it, but since we are older, this is what you should know and where to find the information:

Monitor the DOH and Christus St. Vincent’s websites.

If you think you might have the coronavirus, don’t go to your doctor or to a hospital. Instead, call the 24-hour Department of Health hotline at 855-600-3453. They can give you an assessment over the phone and provide guidance for next steps.

A top U.S. health official on Sunday warned Americans who are elderly or have who underlying health conditions not to get on a cruise ship as the number of documented coronavirus cases continues to rise within the United States and globally.

“Something that’s important, that I hope the American people appreciate is that the risk of getting into trouble with this infection, namely if you are infected, is overwhelmingly weighted toward people with underlying conditions and the elderly,” said Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The fatality rates follow a pretty clear trend: The highest is people aged 80 and up, of which 14.8 percent die from COVID-19. Eight percent of those 70-79 succumb to it, 3.5 percent of 60-69 year olds, and 1.3 percent of those 50-59. Below 50 and the fatality rate is below one percent. There were just 8 deaths total in people under 30, despite more than 4500 cases.

COVID-19 also doesn’t seem to impact men and women exactly the same. Roughly equal numbers of them get sick in the first place, but almost two-thirds of deaths have been among men.

Could I have COVID-19?

Only the Department of Health can test for COVID-19

If any of the following are true, call the New Mexico Department of Health

Department of Health (NMDOH) at (505) 827-0006:

You have fever, cough, or shortness of breath, and in the 14 days before your symptoms started, you visited mainland China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, or Japan or were in contact with a person known to have COVID-19 You do not have fever, cough, or shortness of breath, but you did travel to mainland China, South Korea, Iran, or Italy in the last 14 days or were in contact with a person known to have COVID-19