‘This Is Not Our First Virus’: Rural NC Health Provider Says Listen To Experts on Coronavirus

Dr. Dan Mulcrone, one head of an intensive care unit in Elizabeth City, NC says listen to the experts.

By Billy Ball

April 28, 2020

Dr. Dan Mulcrone, one head of an intensive care unit in Elizabeth City says North Carolinians must take the spread of COVID-19 seriously.

Dr. Dan Mulcrone is one head of the intensive care unit at Elizabeth City’s Sentara Albemarle Medical Center.

It is his job to ensure that the 182-bed hospital in northeastern North Carolina is prepared for COVID-19’s spread. To this point, the impact has been modest in Elizabeth City, the county seat of Pasquotank County.

According to figures from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Pasquotank has 34 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 1 death.

In terms of supplies, Mulcrone says his facility has what it needs today. That makes it one of the more fortunate counties. State officials routinely express concerns about the availability of personal protective equipment like gowns and masks.

But Mulcrone had a simple message for North Carolinians during a Cardinal & Pine interview Monday, one of a series C&P is conducting during the pandemic.

Listen to the experts.

“This is not our first virus,” Mulcrone said.

“This is something that we as a health care profession have prepared for our entire careers,” he added.

Watch the full Cardinal & Pine interview with Dr. Mulcrone below.

Author

Billy Ball

Billy Ball is Cardinal & Pine's senior newsletter editor. He’s covered local, state, and national politics, government, education, criminal justice, the environment, and immigration in North Carolina for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary have earned state, regional, and national awards. He's also the founder of The Living South, a journalism project about the most interesting people in the American South.

Have a story tip? Reach Billy at [email protected]. For local reporting that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Billy’s newsletter.

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