Coronavirus Cases Decline in Philadelphia As City Prepares for Next Steps

Introduction

In the fight against Corona Virus, Philadelphia is continuing to show progress in the reduction of infections. Coronavirus cases in Philadelphia are being reported at lower daily totals, which include decreased numbers coming from prisons and nursing homes. Although this is happening at a slow rate, the city is preparing for its next phase of the pandemic. In turn, we can also see this decline in surrounding counties such as Montgomery county.

Contact Tracing

Once cases reach a relatively low amount, they will start introducing this next phase. They are calling this next phase-in combating the epidemic-contact tracing. Contact tracing will begin to take place by testing wide numbers of individuals. Testing wide numbers of individuals will help to see if there are any cases in Philadelphia they may have otherwise missed.

Once this is accomplished, they will talk to these individuals who tested positive and start tracing the people they may have been in contact with. These individuals who may have been in contact with the positive coronavirus patient, can then be placed on quarantine to help reduce the spread of the virus. If they in turn test positive, the individuals they have been in contact with will go through the same process.

This will not only help reduce the spread of the virus, but allow businesses, such as: Philadelphia orthodontics and braces center city in Philadelphia, to open up and take care of patients once more. Even if this contact tracing isn’t 100%, it will still help catch some of the cases that went unnoticed.  Industries such as health care, including  individual specialities such as orthodontics practices, are going to have to implement new policies and procedures, to further reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Other Countries

Other countries have also begun this contact tracing, utilizing apps to help keep track of this information. We can see this starting to take place in cities such as Utah, who have partnered with a technology company that relies on GPS location data. This technology notifies individuals if they have potentially been in contact with someone who is positive for COVID-19. Other apps could provide something similar to this, but utilizing Bluetooth signals.

With other countries already utilizing contact tracing to decrease the amount of new cases, we could be looking to how they handled this situation. What technologies did they use? When did they start implementing this phase? Has it worked in decreasing the new cases that are showing up?

Technology

It is clear that technology is going to play an important role in what is to come. If Philadelphia will use an app for contact tracing is yet to be known. There is conflicting arguments over this phase and if it will really prove to be beneficial. Due to the incubation period of the virus that proves to be asymptomatic during this time, people could be tested and produce a negative result, while in reality become positive down the road.

Argument

Another argument is privacy issues and whether the government can store this information. It is yet to be seen how the government will handle this dilemma. Still many people argue that testing should only be done on individuals who have symptoms, or are high risk. With coronavirus cases in Philadelphia on the decline, the government will have to figure out exactly what they are going to do for this next phase. It is yet to be seen exactly which way they go, or if they utilize a multitude of methods.

We can see that the use of technology is a trend that is having an impact on companies across the board. More are leaning on technology to limit the amount of in person contact that will take place when they are given the go to reopen. Technology such as virtual orthodontics appointments, could be the way of the future. Even though cases are starting to decrease, doesn’t mean hygiene and sanitation practices, as well as social distancing doesn’t need to be in place. This will only help continue this decline.

Decreasing The Spread

Everything that is being utilized will only help to decrease the spread of the virus, and hopefully bring an end to the pandemic that is wrecking the nation. Only time will tell what will work, and what wont. With other countries ahead of us in the time they’ve been dealing with the virus, we could see our country taking some of their practices and utilizing them here. With combined efforts across the health industry and the general public, we can only hope for a continued decline. One thing is for certain, things will be drastically different when they do.

Testing Criteria

Philadelphia has also expanded its testing criteria to include anyone who is suffering from possible symptoms of the corona virus. This will in turn also allow more individuals to get tested before the next phase even begins to take place. Again this doesn’t mean that someone who goes in to get tested today, wont get a negative result and become positive after the fact, but it will still get some of the people who were unable to get tested before.

With the decline of coronavirus cases in Philadelphia, and surrounding counties such as Montgomery county, there is hope. Hope that this pandemic will continue to decline, and places like Philadelphia will be able to continue implementing the next phases in how they handle this epidemic. Contact-tracing seems to be the next piece to be phased in, and whether that includes testing a wide range of individuals, utilizing technology apps, or both, is yet to be seen.

Conclusion

Whatever they choose, we can see that they are trying to decrease the amount of new cases across the board. In order for businesses and individuals to go back to a sense of normalcy, the spread will have to continue to decrease. It’ll be up to everyone to continue practicing social distancing and any other practices that are put into place. We do know that post-coronavirus will show us a very different society than before.