They were in the front line when the virus struck ... Italian doctors tell their testimonies

Since mid-March, Italy has become the epicenter of the emerging Corona virus, which has claimed the lives of thousands of its residents and infected tens of thousands, and has turned hospitals into an unrelenting battleground against the deadly epidemic.

The New York Times published a report containing pictures and testimonies of some health workers in Italy in the areas most affected by the epidemic, who were the first line of defense in the battle against the virus.

In Lombardy, which was the first virus-infested region of Italy, the rich and advanced health system suddenly became a battleground - the newspaper says - so hospitals increased the capacity of intensive care units, and all hospital wards were equipped with artificial respirators and provided health facility corridors with large numbers of oxygen tanks And the family to accommodate more injured.

The newspaper pointed out that the health sector workers, including doctors, nurses, ambulance workers and volunteers, found themselves forced to work day and night to save the lives of the injured, who were crowded with emergency rooms in the region's hospitals.

Pictures of nurses have spread on the internet and social media, and their offices have collapsed because of the fatigue, and doctors bear the faces of the masks they wear during long and difficult working hours.

The newspaper reported the testimonies of some doctors and nurses who work non-stop to treat the patients who were crowded with hospitals until it exceeded the maximum capacity, including Dr. Marco Rize, 63, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at the Papa Giovanni Hospital in Bergamo who expressed his pain about what is going on, and said, "From Painful to see ambulances lined up at the entrance to the hospital, and do not know where to put patients and how to treat them. All this will leave an indelible imprint. "

"The words are incapable of describing the situation we are living in here. We are devastated," said 58-year-old nurse head of the same nursing department, Anna Zanotti.

I do not say "rest assured"
As for the volunteer in the emergency unit Christian Roversi, 43, he says, "I am where the patients first arrive, there is a big tent in front of the hospital that is like a waiting room. People there don't talk much because they are afraid, trying to give them a moment of support. I can't tell them Don't worry, everything will be fine, but I can try to calm them down. I tell them now that you are in safe hands. "

Paula Sperry, 52, head of the Nursing Department of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Luigi Saco Hospital in Milan, summed up her 52-year-old Paula Sperry during difficult weeks of dealing with the injured, saying "The most traumatic thing is seeing fear in The eyes of the sick, especially the younger ones, are completely dependent on us, and many of them are afraid at night that they will sleep and not be able to wake up again. "

Among the reports also included a statement by Dr. Giudita Luka, 43, a forensic medicine specialist in the Marine Corps who was dispatched to work at Papa Giovanni Hospital, in Bergamo. "There is a feeling that the enemy is waiting for you everywhere, and you can see this all the time in the eyes of the people who live here. They express their deep sense of loss despite their unwillingness to do so. These are scars that remain within a person," she says.