‘Now is our chance’: A Bryan Health physician’s plea to stop the spread of COVID-19

With cities starting to reopen and life beginning to get back to normal, a Bryan Health physician is urging people not to let their guard down. 

With cities starting to reopen and life beginning to get back to normal, a Bryan Health physician is urging people not to let their guard down.

Dr. Bill Johnson, a pulmonologist at Bryan Health, says the general public’s overall response to the virus has helped keep cases in check in Lincoln, and freed up hospitals to take patients from other areas.

‘You’ve absolutely saved lives by doing this,” Johnson said.

Several months into the pandemic, Johnson says health care workers have learned a thing or two. He says the key to beating COVID-19 is identifying asymptomatic carriers – the people who feel well but unknowingly transmit the disease to others.

“Unfortunately, when that happens, the cat is out of the bag,” Johnson said.

Johnson is urging people to continue to do the basics, like washing their hands and disinfecting things they bring home.

Another important factor is masks. Johnson says when two people without masks are near each other – one healthy and one infected – the risk of transmission is high. When one person wears a mask and the other doesn’t, the risk drops some. But when both people wear masks, the risk drops dramatically, Johnson said.

Johnson says he knows people want to get back to their normal lives, but says it has to be done as safely as possible to prevent more cases and deaths.

“For those of you who have had this. For those of you who have had a person die of this, to you and that person the mortality rate is 100 percent,” he said. “And that’s what we feel as your care providers. We take that to heart.”

Johnson says continuing to follow social distancing and observing health and safety guidelines is critically important.

“I know there are people who don’t want to wear a mask. I know there are people that are willing. I’m pleading with you – we have to take care of each other,” he said. “Think about your neighbor, think about your family.”

“Now is our chance. Now is our chance to make that difference as we move on.”