PEORIA, Ill. — Central Illinois is doing a good job of flattening the curve.
Dr. Doug Kasper, Infectious Disease Specialist with the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria, told WMBD’s Greg and Dan, as long as you’re washing your hands and observing social distancing in public, there is no reason for most of us in the Peoria area to obsess about getting COVID-19.
“People are doing a great job, but I don’t want it to turn into almost an obsession about all of these things that are otherwise normal activities for us,” Kasper said.
Kasper is referring to people wearing latex gloves to swipe their credit or debit card at the grocery store, or being afraid to touch the gas pump.
He said the take away is, be smart when you’re out and about.
“You don’t have to live in complete fear of this situation.”
Though it’s important to follow safety guidelines during the current stay-at-home order, Kasper said most of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Illinois are in Chicago, Cook County and surrounding areas.
A majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide are in areas that have very dense populations.
About a month into Illinois’ stay-at-home order, Kasper said he doesn’t expect to see “big city numbers” of infections locally.
“The hope coming out of this pandemic is that it will lead to a recommitment for individual health. Things that they can control like food intake, alcohol intake, exercise. And, get yourself as healthy as possible for any condition you might encounter.”
