I have worked in healthcare for 31 years. Natalie has also worked in healthcare for about 20 years and is a respiratory therapist (we work for the same hospital). I shake my head at some of the comments here that this is nothing more than the media causing panic. Some people love to politicize this. In my 31 years working at the same hospital, I have never seen the amount of concern, and near panic about a virus outbreak than this one. I know that bashing the news is en vogue right now, but everyone should take this seriously. People claim this is no big deal and is just another flu strain. Each year the Flu kills about .1% of the people who contract the virus, or 1 in 1000. Currently, COVID is killing about 2-3% of those who contract the virus. That's 2-3 people out of 100. Let that sink in. Additionally, it is now coming out that there is about a 12% re-infection rate for those who have been cured. Yes, the odds of this affecting the average person is low, but higher than the infection rate of the seasonal flu. The biggest concern, at least from a healthcare perspective, is how to handle the influx of patients with the virus. This will have a significant impact on the ability for hospitals to care for any patient if they are having to focus their resources on patients that contract the COVID virus. Keep in mind that hospital workers are at the same risk of infection as the public. Hospital workers are required to get the flu shot every year and that, for the most part, protects them from patients with the flu. There is no vaccine for COVID. Protective equipment is scarce due to everyone stocking up. We are having difficulties getting enough protective equipment to ensure that clinical staff can protect themselves. If hospital staff start contracting the virus as well, that is even more strain put on the ability for hospitals to effectively take care of patients. Our hospital has instituted a ban on in-person meetings and gatherings. All meetings need to be held via conference calls. If hospitals are taking this extremely seriously, people should as well. Whether you contract the virus or not, this has the potential to significantly impact everyone. Hopefully, this passes without any significant mass outbreak. Just make sure to practice safe hand hygiene!
Hola, thanks for posting this. Spain is in lockdown- it feels like a strange movie. I thought American people were joking when they were saying it was opponents of Trump making it up! (people actually said this) Stay safe and thanks for looking after the rest of us, xx
Some of us are saying that opponents of Trump are weaponizing this to try to say he is non presidential or even "incompetent" they ARE DOING everything they can to politicize this.. they (the left) would rather divide us than unite us. Never said it was a joke or not to take it serious..
It has absolutely 0 to do with Trump. I'm a Canadian living in Mexico. Idgaf about Trump. I live in Mexico. I have seen what the healthcare system is like here and what the response to this virus has been like. This has zero to do with American politics.
appreciate the local perspective, we do, just that the admin of this site is 100% trusted as a local..
And that's wonderful. But everyone else here seems to be talking about their opinions so I'm not sure why I shouldn't
