GREEN BAY, Wis.— A Green Bay-area doctor is urging the public to follow safety guidelines so the region can flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases.

Dr. Brian Johnson is the chief medical officer for Aurora BayCare Medical Center. He says there’s no time for complacency.

“Let’s be clear — wearing a mask does help, keeping a physical distance from others does help,” he says. “This won’t get better until we’re all taking that seriously.”

On Friday, Johnson reported Advocate Aurora Health System has discharged more than 8,800 COVID-19 patients during the pandemic.

He says, as of Friday, 60 of the 166 patients hospitalized for the virus are in his system’s hospitals in Wisconsin — 25 in Green Bay, 12 in Marinette, 5 in Manitowoc, 18 in Oshkosh.

“There’s no question a surge in COVID-19 cases would be challenging,” he said.

Johnson says the system has a surge plan in place and is ready for even more cases.

He says the answer to flattening the curve is for the public to follow health guidelines.

“I really think that if we key in on those few easy things, we can get a handle on this,” says Johnson.