Some COVID-19 patients in Fayetteville see results from Remdesivir

COVID-19 cases in Cumberland County continue to rise. That's why loosened stay-at-home restrictions are alarming to this medical panel.

"This is not over. Our numbers on the whole are looking good, especially in terms of hospitalizations, but we are not yet seeing that 14 days of declining cases yet," said Dr. Jennifer Green, Cumberland County Health Director.

The panel took questions over the phone and online for about an hour. Some people wanted to know about the drug Remdesivir. Cape Fear Valley Medical Center started using the drug to fight COVID-19 about two weeks ago.

"And the early results are very promising," said Mike Nagowski, CEO of Cape Fear Medical Center.

He said they put two patients on Remdesivir early, who were able to be discharged after being deemed healthy.

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Another patient, he said, started on it in the ICU and has also been improving.

Nagowski said while the initial results are good, the drug is not an end-all or cure-all for COVID-19.

"What this drug does is stop the virus — or it impedes the virus' ability to replicate. So it does not destroy or kill the virus, but it allows the body time to heal before it's overwhelmed by the virus," he said.