Medics around the world go beyond call of duty to fight coronavirus
With the coronavirus epidemic gripping the world in a death choke, medical professionals around the countries are working beyond their call of duty to ensure the spread is contained and no further people are diagnosed with it.
Testing times like these prove that the saying about doctors, calling them living gods, holds true.
With the pandemic of coronavirus gripping the world in a death choke, claiming more than 6,000 lives so far, medical professionals across the globe are working beyond their call of duty to ensure that the spread is contained.
From giving up family life, cutting down on their water intake to avoid visiting toilets, wearing protective gear for long hours, shaving off hair to avoid sweat, wearing adult diapers to reaching a state of psychological tiredness, these bravehearts are doing everything in their capacity to help.
Social media of late, has been replete with photographs of doctors and nurses on the job, showing their struggle, fatigue and fight against COVID-19.
A recent black and white image doing the rounds on the internet shows an Italian nurse, Elena Pagliarini, slumping over her keyboard after a long day at work. The poignant photo tells how demanding and straining the work has become for them.
Italy has seen the most number of deaths from COVID-19 outside China, where the outbreak has already killed more than 3,500 people.
Pagliarini, in an interaction with AFP said she was initially “annoyed” and somewhat “ashamed” to see her photo everywhere, which showed her “weakness,” but later changed her mind seeing the empathy of people towards her.
“On one hand, I was annoyed to see my photo everywhere. I was ashamed of showing my weakness. But then I was happy because I got beautiful messages from people who empathised with my story,” Pagliarini said.
Stating that she is more anxious than tired as not much has been found about the virus, Pagliarini said, “I actually don’t feel physically tired; I can work for 24 hours straight if it’s necessary, but I won’t hide the fact that I’m anxious right now.”
Related news: 15 million people in Italy under lockdown due to coronavirus scare
Either due to hectic work or the fear of infecting their family members, medical professionals are also staying away from home.
In an emotional Facebook post Daniele Macchini, a doctor in Bergamo, Italy wrote, “It’s almost two weeks since I’ve seen my son or my family because I’m worried about infecting them. I settle for some photos of my son which I look at through my tears, and a few video calls.”
Adding to the physical fatigue is the mental pressure.
A nurse in the Tuscan town of Grossetto, Italy said that other doctors and hospital staff there were suffering from the “fear of making mistakes, of being infected, of not being able to carry on in these conditions.”
Posting an image on Instagram of her face bearing marks from a long day of wearing a surgical mask, she said, “To add to the physical fatigue me all my colleagues have been “psychologically tired” for weeks from the workload,” said an AFP report quoting her.
Similar pictures of Chinese nurses, showing them bearing bruises on their cheeks, sustained after wearing facial masks for long hours, has been doing the rounds on social media for the past few days.
Nurses take off their face masks after a grueling shift in fight with novel #coronavirus, touching the hearts of millions on Chinese social media. Salute to these angels!#EverydayHero ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/BiO7E3PfGR
— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) February 5, 2020
Unfortunately, even the doctors and nurses are testing positive due to their close contact with patients.
According to Italian media, in Bergamo alone, around 50 doctors had tested positive for the virus with some of them admitted in intensive care units.
Related news: China makes a tech-tonic shift in war against coronavirus
The Chinese government on February 14 acknowledged the deaths of medical staff, revealing that more than 1,700 Chinese medical workers have been infected and six have died until then.
