Wear a mask, advises Hunter Kome

The chief operating officer for Prisma Health in Oconee, Hunter Kome, says his best advice is for everyone to wear a mask.  Kome fears that if the general public, for whatever reason, won’t wear masks, another shutdown is possible.  So far, however, Oconee hospital test results are encouraging.  He told the chamber of commerce’s JoAnn Johnson that of 900 COVID-19 tests by his facility, only two percent of the tests were positive. That’s a percentage lower than the state’s average. COVID-19 ASIDE, Kome says health care nationwide is “very concerned” that people are avoiding general care because they are scared they could catch the virus at the hospital. Truth is, however, according to Kome, a hospital is safe because of all the protective gear and other precautions. What medical personnel fret over is that someone with, say, heart trouble might rationalize the discomfort as nothing more than heartburn and will neglect to have it checked for fear of catching the virus.