Miami Valley doctor talks COVID concerns for fall

DAYTON — The pandemic started in the spring, carried through the summer, and is now spreading into fall.

Dr. Roberto Colón, the associate chief medical officer for Miami Valley Hospital said the change in weather comes with COVID-19 concerns.

“All of those social activities that we have been able to move outdoors, where we can space out, are now going to be occurring in a more confined space,” Colón said.

He explained, this is different than when the pandemic really got going in March.

“At the time we didn’t have the amount of prevalence out in the community like we do now,” Colón said. “There are more people out there that are carrying this disease and potentially passing this on to everybody.”

He suggests people try to keep activities outside as long as possible.

“When you are outdoors and you have the wind currents that are coming and going, they’re dispersing those particles,” Colón said. “It’s not that they’re going away, but the amount, the concentration is much lower, thereby reducing your risk that you’re going to pick up the virus.”

However, he said people might need to make wardrobe changes to be able to comfortably stay outside longer.

“It may mean that we’re going to be wearing a little bit of an extra layer early on in the season that we normally wouldn’t. That’s ok. That may be the price that we have to pay now to try to stay as safe as we can,” Colón said.

He said this highlights the need for people to wear masks and socially distance as much as possible when indoors. He also said if people feel at all sick, they need to avoid contact with others.

Cox Media Group