Coronavirus Discussions on The Game

Ryan Fowler on The Game has provided an open platform for his callers to discuss what is on their hearts. Most often the subject is football and the Crimson Tide but lately, with sports at a standstill the conversation has turned to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. This past week, Fowler introduced Dr. David Williams, a family practice doctor and the two spoke about Williams's opinions and experience with coronavirus.

You can listen to the entire interview on Soundcloud. Williams explained that the virus is real and that it can in fact kill people. However he did not believe the numbers reported warranted the response that the United States has seen. Dr. Williams wrote letters to Senator Richard Shelby about the virus and even published an article for the public to read entitled "The Truth (and Lies) about Coronavirus".

He believes that the countries response has been incorrect as far as dealing with the virus. He compared the deaths reported to coronavirus to that of the typical flu season in which the United States loses around 38,000 people to the flu each season.

Dr. Williams believes the right response would look similar to that of Japan. The Japanese staggered their commutes to work so that fewer people were using public transportation at a time. They also closed their schools for a week to plan for the response in which they tracked clusters of the virus to shut down only areas that were affected.

Dr. Williams claimed that for those who are under 60-years-old, they would likely never know if they had the COVID-19 coronavirus. He stated that if you do not wear gloves and masks during flu season then there is no reason to wear them now during this pandemic. However he claimed that people should take into account their own circumstances, if a person is living with immunocompromised individuals or elderly that it may be beneficial for those people to wear a mask.

Dr. Williams expressed concern about the nation's mental health as a result of the precautions that have been put in place. Not only over staying at home and maintaining separation but the financial impact of the virus. He spoke about those who have lost their jobs and lost businesses as most vulnerable to depression and other mental illnesses.

Dr. Williams went on to talk about doctors and hospitals being encouraged and compensated to list COVID-19 on death certificates in order to inflate the numbers. He stated that he is not in the hospitals at the moment but has contacts who have revealed that information to him.

Dr. Williams is calling for a full reopening of the country and the economy. He said anything short of a full reopening would be an incorrect response.

You can listen to the interview in its entirety on Soundcloud and read Dr. Williams's article linked above. Ryan Fowler hosts The Game each weekday from 2-6 p.m. each weekday on Tide 100.9 or you can stream it on TIDE1009APP.