- They are taking photos of their faces after long, exhausting shifts of testing and treating potential COVID-19 patients, and some of the photos show bruising from wearing a face mask all day long.
- All the healthcare professionals we talked to recommend staying home amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
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Healthcare professionals around the world are sharing photos of their exhausted faces, sometimes bruised from masks, after harrowing shifts treating coronavirus patients. They all have the same message: Stay home.
Doctors and nurses all around the world are fighting on the frontlines of COVID-19 as the coronavirus continues to spread globally.
covid 19 frontlines
Nicola Sgarbi is a doctor in training at an ICU in a civil hospital in Modena, Italy. He took this photo after a 13-hour shift of treating coronavirus patients.
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Courtesy of Nicola Sgarbi
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"I mainly took the photo for two reasons. Firstly, to send it to my partner, to tell her that I had finished my shift at work and that I was on my way home, slightly bruised," Sgarbi told CNN . "Secondly, to show it to my 1-year-old daughter when she will have grown up. I will be telling her about this moment."
Over in Pelotas, Brazil, nurse and ICU specialist Amanda Ramalhoo told Business Insider she has been testing patients for COVID-19 for the last two weeks.
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Courtesy of Amanda Ramalhoo
In a recent Instagram post , Ramalhoo said "We, health workers, are already exhausted. Let's help each other! Before seeking assistance from health services, call surveillance. Do not increase the demand for emergencies further. Stay at home! Book the barbecue with friends for next month! Don't visit Grandma and Grandpa! Do not use public transport! Wash the hands!!!"
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Rachel Adams McCreight, a registered nurse at an emergency room in Houston, Texas, has seen so many presumed positive cases of COVID-19 that she doesn't feel it's safe to see any friends or family that aren't in the ER with her.
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Courtesy of Rachel TK
"In the ER we have to assume everyone with fever, shortness of breath, or cough could potentially have COVID-19, which is pretty much everyone lately," Adams McCrieight told Business Insider. "We are getting more and more positive cases, but usually I won't find out their status until a week later when the results come in. We are already rationing our PPE, like most ERs around the country, awaiting the influx of more critical patients."
"ER nurses are a resilient group, but even for us, the level of anxiety is palpable on a daily basis, especially with the new reduced protection guidelines from the CDC guidelines," she continued.
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"My main message would be to stay home and stop having big parties to protect yourself. We are seeing critical COVID-19 cases in the young and old," she said.
This registered nurse told Business Insider she works primarily with stroke patients but was asked to join her hospital's COVID-19 team, which tests patients for coronavirus and provides care for them, about three weeks ago.
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Courtesy of Megan Patterson
"Overall, I'm just doing my job," the nurse, who requested anonymity, told Business Insider. "Each time I walk into work and get my assignment, I have a sick human that I have to care for. That hasn't changed. Luckily, I have an amazing team of nurses and physicians that I get to work with."
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"We all have the same goal, and that's to save lives. I believe that nurses fix humans and physicians fix sicknesses and diseases together, we can be a powerful force," she continued.
"It's humbling to be referred to as a hero, but at the end of the day it's not about me it's about what I'm doing to help these very sick patients," she said.
See Also:
- I was a nurse for 30 years. We're being drafted into war, but our commander-in-chief refuses to give us the weapons and protection we need to fight it.
- Stores, restaurants, and companies across the US are putting staff on furlough as they shut down during the coronavirus outbreak here's what it means for employees
- 8 ways every business owner should make the most of a slow period, according to a social media expert who has worked with Facebook, Samsung, and LinkedIn
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