Letter: Take COVID seriously, health community is overwhelmed

To the Editor:

This is Dr. Theresa Campbell writing this letter on behalf of the physicians and providers listed below.

I am writing this letter to help inform the public how much we need your help in slowing this pandemic. People, please help us help you.

Wear your masks. Wash your hands. And don’t go out partying.

Even do this for one month.

We need to slow this down.

The health community is becoming overwhelmed everywhere in the state due to this terrible spread of COVID. Last week, 33% of tests done at Avera Queen Of Peace emergency department and Avera Grasslands COVID testing site were positive for COVID. That is crazy.

Unless this is slowed down, the projections for the next month are predicting a 50-100% increase in cases.

And people are dying from this. Don’t kid yourself thinking this isn’t serious. South Dakota has had a total of 510 deaths from COVID-19 over the past seven to eight months, with 85 in the last six days!

Please, if you haven’t before, now is the time to take this seriously, for our families, our friends, our town and our state.

Theresa Campbell, MD

Jesse Barondeau, MD

Phillip Becker, MD

Jessica Claussen, MD

Matthew Finke, MD

Heidi Gehrke, CNP

Mandi Greenway, MD

Michael Krause, DO

Darren Manthey, MD

Lucio Margallo, MD

Trevor Meaney, MD

Xenofon Papadopoulos, MD

Hilary Rockwell, MD

Jennifer Tegethoff, MD

Scott Vankeulen, MD