Doctors say beware of COVID dangers as society reopens; here’s how you can stay safe

SANTA MARIA, Calif.-

As Governor Gavin Newsom moves to a phased reopening of society, medical experts want people to know the virus is not going away and safety precautions are still needed.
We spoke with the Santa Barbara County Health department and doctors on what you need to know as society re-emerges.

“The coronavirus is not going away and we don't expect it to go away any time soon,” said Dignity Health's Dr. Scott Robertson.

Dr. Robertson is warning the public that even though the shelter in place is being phased out people will still continue to get sick.

“We will definitely see additional cases of COVID-19 in our community,” said Dr. Robertson.

Here's what you need to do to keep you and your loved ones safe.

“Continuing to have source masking, continuing to have social distance. And the most important thing is hand hygiene,” said Dr. Robertson.

“They don't protect us but it will protect other people,” said Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg.

Experts say the only change that's happened since the virus broke out is that hospitals now have better infrastructures to handle the sick. This means people will continue to be at high risk of getting COIVD-19.

“There are people who have the virus and their immune system will keep it at bay and they will never get sick,” said Dr. Ansorg.

Dr. Ansorg tells us the virus will not go away… but over time it could get less infectious to the population as more people build up an immunity to it. But that may take years.