1/5 I keep hearing the argument that hospitalizations, not positive tests, is the COVID indicator to watch. Not so- per @DrMikeMendoza and other public health experts, hospitalizations are a lagging indicator and invariably increase when positive tests rise. Why does this matter?

2/5 @ROCRegional and @UR_Med hospitals are already near capacity with mostly non-COVID patients. There is no capacity for a surge of COVID patients without decreasing other nonurgent services (heart valve replacements, knee replacements, hernia repairs, colostomy reversals).

3/5 Remember that @ROCRegional and @UR_Med are the largest employers in town. If their specialists can't perform non-urgent services, those offices will slow down and may need to furlough employees again. That will hit our economy big time.

4/5 For those who think we can just open field hospitals, who will staff these? There is not an unlimited local supply of skilled nursing and medical staff and other states won't be able to spare any to help, like they did in the spring.

5/5 Moral of the story - positive cases do matter, not only to the health of our community but also to the economy which is so dependent upon the provision of healthcare services. So #MaskUp and space out Rochester!