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Tales from the Coronavirus Front Line

Jamie Dettmer

   Parisians marked dusk on the first day of their coronavirus lockdown
   this week by stepping out on their balconies and throwing open their
   windows to cheer and applaud the front-line fighting of doctors and
   nurses of the virulent viral enemy that has upended life around the
   world.

   In neighboring Italy and Spain, health workers also received people's
   praises -- not only in appreciation of their dedication but to lift the
   spirits of the exhausted professionals who are showing true grit. They
   need all the morale boosts they can get.

   They also need more protective gear.

   In Italy and Spain, protective gear is running out. Nearly 3,000
   Italian doctors have fallen sick because of COVID-19.

   In Britain, doctors are angry about the lack of testing of health
   professionals.

   "We must stop the ridiculous imbalance where politicians and sports
   stars can apparently get tested, but frontline health workers cannot.
   The criteria must be consistent," anesthetist Chris Gough tweeted
   Tuesday.

     I'll have a quick moan about testing, and then go through my
     symptoms.
     Testing, testing, testing.
     We must stop the ridiculous imbalance where politicians and sports
     stars can apparently get tested, but frontline health workers
     cannot. The criteria must be consistent. (2/n)
     -- Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) [1]March 16, 2020

   British doctors have been told that even if they are sick, they will
   need to carry on working.

   Italian doctors and nurses say they are burned out from their
   round-the-clock battle with coronavirus and the high volume of severely
   ill patients they are trying to save. Choosing which patients to hook
   up to scarce ventilators is having a heavy emotional and psychological
   toll on them.

   "Since there is, unfortunately, a disproportion between hospital
   resources, resuscitation beds and critically ill patients, not everyone
   can be intubated," according to Christian Salaroli, an anesthetist in
   the northern city of Bergamo, Italy, one of the areas hardest hit by
   the coronavirus.

   Salaroli's clinic, Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital, announced midweek that
   all of its 80 critical care beds were full. He told reporters that
   medical staff decided to treat "based on age and state of health," and
   had to prioritize patients with the best chances of survival.

   Doctors, Salaroli said, were being forced to declare "a terrible
   sentence" -- one that goes against their ethics. But he added, "We are
   not in a position to try for miracles. It is a reality."

   Medical staff have been reduced to tears having to make so many life or
   death decisions in quick succession. In the smaller hospitals in
   close-knit communities, they often had to deny treatment to neighbors
   and friends.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/GoughCJ/status/1239587300713127937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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