SWFL doctors react to president, first lady COVID-19 diagnosis

Local doctors we spoke to in Southwest Florida say the president’s and first lady’s diagnosis for the coronavirus is proof it can get to anyone, and they say there’s a lesson we should all learn from this.

For Dr. Antonio Gonzalez, the news was not a shock.

“We all saw that coming,” Gonzalez said. “The only thing that we ask is hopefully, you know, he doesn’t get any complications and, you know, he gets well soon.

Gonzalez works at Community Medical Center in Immokalee. He told us, almost every day, he tells someone to do the opposite of what the president does.

“We hope that all his followers for now on try to use the mask more often,” Gonzalez said. “You know, because they see the president not using the mask and they say, “If my president doesn’t use the mask, I don’t see the reason why I should use it.”

Dr. Rebekah Bernard, the president of Collier County Medical Society, told us the news took her by surprise.

“Even though we know that many patients are contracting COVID, you don’t expect it to be a major world leader like the president,” Bernard said.

Bernard practices at Gulf Coast Direct Primary Care in south Fort Myers. She’s heard the early reports that president’s symptoms are mild but worries how some people might take that.

“I think that some people will look at this as an excuse to say that maybe this isn’t such a big deal,” Bernard said. “We really shouldn’t worry about it, even though we’ve seen other world leaders like Boris Johnson for example might be extremely ill and require intensive care treatment.”

“We all know that the virus reacts different in different individuals,” Gonzalez said.