Doctors, nurses, and health care workers have become heroes fighting the epidemic of the Coronavirus in the front rows, and the world population has applauded them from balconies and in the streets.
As health care workers in hospitals cope with a massive influx of patients, they face fear of contracting the virus. Often times, they face heartbreaking decisions while treating patients. Journalists have spoken to healthcare workers from around the world to find out what it means to be on the frontline of the battle against the Coronavirus.
You can't get sick
Italy is one of the countries most affected by Corona, and despite the decline in the severity of the matter and its tendency towards a gradual recovery, dozens of doctors and nurses have died from Covid-19, and thousands of health care workers have contracted the virus.
Silvana de Florio, a nursing coordinator in the intensive care unit for Covid-19 patients in Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome, stressed the importance of wearing masks and gloves and wearing medical suits to avoid infection. She said: "We do not allocate a specific period for this, but we estimated that for a shift of seven hours, the employee would only spend between 40 and 50 minutes wearing protective clothing." "In terms of hand washing and disinfection, we are talking about 60 to 75 minutes a day," she added. "The medical staff cannot be sick, because it will not be fair," she added.
A war without weapons
In the Pacific coastal city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, a sick nurse does not try to hide her anger, 80 of her colleagues are injured and five of them die. Ecuador is one of the most affected countries in South America, with hundreds of bodies lying inside homes as morgues are full. "We went to war without weapons," said the 55-year-old nurse, who did not want to be identified. "The necessary equipment was not ready when this epidemic was spreading and destroying Europe," added the nurse, who is recovering at home, as there are no vacant places in hospitals.
She noted that patients who had "severe symptoms" were arriving at the emergency department "but due to a lack of tests, they were treated as if they had the flu, then they were sent home."
"We did not have personal protective equipment, but we could not refuse to treat patients," she said.
Lack of equipment
Judy Sheridan-Gonzales, chair of the New York State Nurses Association, complained about the lack of protective equipment for medical workers. "We do not have weapons and shields to protect ourselves from the enemy," she said in a protest outside a hospital.
He told Benny Matthew, a 43-year-old nurse in New York, that he had contracted the virus after caring for at least four patients without protective medical clothing.
Soon after that, when his temperature fell, the hospital asked him to return to work.
"They told me if your temperature is not high you can go back to work, and that was the only criterion for them."
"I was told to wear a mask and come to work," he added. We don't have enough staff, so I think it was my duty to come back. But I was worried that I would pass the disease on to my colleagues and the patients who did not have it. ”
A real nightmare
Doctors at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, a center for infectious diseases, are used to fighting the most severe infectious diseases, but they have seen nothing similar to "Covid-19".
"We are living in a real nightmare," said Dr. Ferdinand de Guzman, 60, who is considered one of the groups most vulnerable to HIV infection.
With a limited number of intensive care rooms and artificial respirators, doctors have to make appalling judgments. Many are afraid of returning home after the shift, and the doctor explained, "We fear for our families."
"We are afraid"
Roger Itoa, a doctor in Cameroon, one of the worst affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, admits that fear of disease also affects health care workers.
"I live with my wife and children," said Itua (36 years old). "When I arrive in the evening I rush to shower, and it is very difficult to prevent children from jumping on you."
"We are as afraid as the rest of the population. "We fear that we may not have worn our masks and suits properly when we deal with a patient showing symptoms of the virus."
"Obviously, we are afraid of being infected. When you wake up in the morning and experience some headaches, you ask yourself: What if you have HIV?
Tension up at home
Thomas Kirchning is a doctor and coordinator for intensive care in the German city of Mannheim, near the border with France.
He feels some tension when returning home to his wife and two daughters, and explains, "I do everything I can to make sure that no infection is transmitted when I return home."
"We may not get close to each other as we used to do before this epidemic," he said. We are a little worried, my family is worried about me and I am also worried about my family. ”
- "Medical personnel take 60 to 75 minutes to wash hands."
Ferdinand de Guzman: “We are living a real nightmare. We fear for our families.”