Covid-19 Update | March 16 at 7:36 PM

So its time for my evening update and I wish I had better news to report, but while we had an amazing time with friends and family on the Beach with no concern of corona virus, our nation is having a major overreaction that is shaking my trust in government. So I am 100% on board with those at high risk for a bad outcome if they get corona virus staying home, but what I have a serious problem with as an individual and physician is when the recommendations don’t match the science. The idea that in Northwest Florida we need to take the same measures as hot spots in Broward and Miami Dade county makes no sense to me. Half of all the cases in Florida are from those two counties. A new case in Escambia County reported today is confirmed as travel related, meaning we still have not a single case of community spread within 200 miles. The White House has painted a broad brush in asking for groups of 10 to not gather for 15 days and maybe longer, we’ll let you know in 2 weeks if its going to be all Spring and/or Summer. The White House also stated that schools should close if there is community spread in your state or an adjacent state. That is not using proper risk assessment and pretty much giving into the media driven hysteria. I continue to believe with all of the publicly reported data that Northwest Florida is a safe place to continue all of your normal daily activities for you and your family, unless you are over 65 or immune compromised.