BOWIE, Md. — As a nurse practitioner on the front lines fighting the spread of coronavirus, Golden Days Healthcare member Shavonne Gumbs has seen the swings of the pandemic firsthand.
The first stage in the spring revolved around telehealth sessions with patients before she began conducting in-person tests in June.
Now, months later, the latest surge in cases has led to an overwhelming need for care.
"The spike is worse than when the pandemic first started," she said. "From the time you walk in the office, I am on the go and getting people their results, doing more testing, calling patients back about their results.”
The frenzy for first responders trying to keep up with care and treatment for the virus has been felt all over the country.
Washington, D.C. has continued to see the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 rise, with the official 12.6% tally from DC Health on Sunday marking the highest it has been since June.
In Virginia, the average positivity rate for testing was more than 12% for the first time since May.
In Maryland, one piece of data offered some encouraging news: the average number of cases in Prince George's County has decreased over the past three weeks.
On Tuesday, official data showed the county averaging 384 new cases a day, which is down 21% from December 10.
After hearing about the numbers, Gumbs said the progress could likely be somewhat attributed to the adherence to health and safety guidelines by the public.
"I definitely think people are being more diligent with wearing their masks, hand washing, and staying home," she said. "Just speaking to a lot of my patients with the holidays coming up, a lot of people were staying home. They weren’t doing their usual holiday activities. I think we’re being more diligent with the things that we’re doing to help prevent the spread.”
While the numbers marked a positive trend, Prince George's County Health Officer Dr. Ernest Carter said the area could see a possible spike in cases following Christmas and New Year's Eve gatherings.
He also pointed to other metrics as signs that the area still faced a tough road ahead.
“Even though our metrics trended down a bit before the Christmas holiday, the week after Thanksgiving our COVID-19 cases rose by 40%. We are watching the data closely in the coming days and weeks to see if a similar trend will emerge after the Christmas and New Year holidays," Dr. Carter wrote in a statement. "In addition, our average daily case rate per 100,000 residents continues to be concerning, staying well in the critical range above 25.0. Despite these initial promising trends, we still need Prince Georgians to continue to do their part to stop the spread of this virus, including wearing a face covering, practicing physical distancing, avoiding large crowds and gatherings, and washing your hands frequently. We also want to remind residents to safely celebrate the New Year holiday with those in their immediate household.”
Moving forward, Gumbs hoped the community would keep following guidelines to stay safe from another possible surge in cases.
"I’m positive that this is something that we will get through, especially just looking out for one another and doing things that we need to do to continue to help," she said.