'Stay home, don't move': Medical professionals share stories of heartache and courage on pandemic

A growing concern is the shortage of protective equipment, including N95 masks and ventilators.

WrittenBy:NL Team
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The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic hit nearly 13,000 today. Italy reported 651 deaths on Sunday alone, and the United States reported 100 deaths on the same day. In India, 415 cases have been reported and seven deaths.

Across the world, doctors have been posting stories of heartache, courage and struggle as hospitals labour to scrape together resources to handle the pandemic.

Medical professionals face a shortage of N95 masks, which they normally wear while treating contagious patients, thanks to the panic buying of masks that accompanied the onset of the pandemic. Equipment like test kits and ventilators are also in short supply.

In Spain, this doctor talked about how they're forced to triage: remove older patients from ventilators or respirators to provide medical support to younger patients instead.

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In New York City in the US, which now accounts for roughly five percent of the world's confirmed cases...

In Italy, Dr Sylvia Bignamini told Channel 4 News she wants the rest of the world to learn from Italy's experience and "act promptly and earlier'.

A doctor in Boston warned that the US would soon run out of ventilators if it didn't act immediately.

A nurse in Italy teared up, saying medical professionals are working "in a state of very high stress and tension" and of "total emergency". "We're not even counting the dead anymore."

Also in Italy, a doctor urged the general population to stay home. He said they were in "desperate need of both nurses and physicians", along with ventilators and protective gear.

In the UK, a critical care nurse begged people to stop panic buying.

The shortage of masks and protective equipment is now so bad that medical professionals have been using the hashtag #GetMePPE on Twitter; PPE being personal protective equipment.

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