COLUMBIA, S.C. — News19's medical reporter Rosemarie Beltz is a licensed perfusionist and once a month she works a clinical rotation to keep her skills and licenses to practice medicine current.
Rosemarie is on clinical right now and has worked at several hospitals in New York, South Florida and Southern California over the past several weeks. These areas have seen an uptick in cases of COVID-19.
RELATED: Coronavirus live updates: Europe travel ban begins tonight; administration nears aid bill agreement
She tells us hospitals are trying to limit exposure risks for both patients and staff members. The big challenge, she says, is keeping up the routines to treat the normal case load that is now being taxed with an uptick in patients coming in with symptoms of the coronavirus.
Rosemarie says visitors and patients to hospitals should expect delays and slower than normal service as medical staff try to take every precaution to protect patients.