As coronavirus cases rise in state, doctor says randomness of patients is 'part of the scariness'

Coronavirus cases are increasing in Michigan and while that alone, is cause for concern - so is what is happening at hospitals. 

“More patients that seem to be a little sicker than they were a couple of months ago,” said Dr. Paul Chittick.

Chittick says at Royal Oak Beaumont they have seen a steady increase in cases a majority of those patients being older with underlying health issues. 

“But there is still some randomness to this," he said. "We still see the occasional young person without any health issues. That is part of the scariness is the unpredictability of it.”

And some advancements in treatments, like corticosteroids and Remdesivir have helped, but he admits six months into covid there are still a lot of unknowns. 

“The drugs that we talk about, the steroids and Remdesivir are not as effective as, if you had a bacterial infection, we can give you antibiotics I can use to treat you," he said. "We are not to that level of effectiveness.”

In all eight Beaumont hospitals from March 29th to April 5th, they were treating 1,200 to 1,300 Covid patients a day.
 
On Monday, that number was 200 - nowhere near the peak of the spring. Other hospitals in the area like the Detroit Medical Center report very few patients currently in the hospital.

McLaren says they’ve seen an increase in cases but nowhere near the spring peak. FOX 2 reached out to Henry Ford Health System who said they were unavailable for comment on the issue.
 
One thing most medical experts fear is the potential for a combination of illness to strike at once. 

“With both the flu and COVID-19, we don’t have tons of effective treatments. But the ones we do have, probably work better the sooner you get started on them,” Dr. Chittick said.