You can help. Donate to hospitals today!
While the US now has more coronavirus cases than any other country in the world, some hospitals are running out of masks and other personal protective gear. Here is what you can do to help them.
On this photo: Nurse Donna Wood in her safety suit. Courtesy of: Simon Davis/DFID
Coronavirus, or COVID-19, took us by surprise. At first, we read some news here and there about a new virus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China. It happened at the end of the last year and most of the people around the world were too busy to worry about it too much. China seemed to be far away, the holidays were coming, the end of the year was approaching, and most people were concentrating on finishing their projects before upcoming winter break vacations and family gatherings. Not many of us expected this new virus to become a big issue; but sure enough, very soon it did.
Coronavirus spread fast around the world. It is believed that COVID-19, caused by the virus known as SARS-CoV-2, has a natural origin. On Wednesday, March 11, The World Health Organization declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, as just in a few weeks this dangerous virus came to almost every country in the world. It led to literally a global panic with customers clearing the shelves of their local stores of hand sanitizer, toilet paper, paper towels, medical masks, soap, vitamins, pain medicine and many food items.
In the beginning of March, thousands of people around the world went on quarantine as governments were finding all possible ways to keep the virus from spreading. Many businesses had to close. Many countries closed their borders. Everyone turned their heads to China again, but now to learn from it, as China managed to take this virus under control and to slow down the spread of COVID-19.
We all ended up being “in the same boat” and dealing with this invisible enemy together. And at the front line, as usual, are our heroes - doctors, nurses, and all other medical professionals who shoulder to shoulder fight for our lives and safety. It is their duty; it is their destiny. They put their health at risk as this virus is new and is not well studied yet. Scientists are working very hard on creating a vaccine against it, but meanwhile medical professionals day and night have to take care of their patients. All they can do to protect themselves is to use their protective gear - medical masks, gloves, special gowns and glasses, and, of course, keeping high standards of personal hygiene to prevent this dangerous disease from spreading.
At the end of this week, the US became the 1st country in the world to reach more than 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. We all understand that this number, as well as the number of deaths from coronavirus, will grow. I don’t like giving a pessimistic prognosis, but there are already some hospitals in the US that are running out of personal protective gear, and more and more hospitals will soon face the same situation. They will keep running out of medical masks, gloves and other protective equipment as the number of coronavirus patients keeps growing.
According to Today.com, “across the country, medical professionals have said that they do not have enough access to personal protective equipment, and access to more may be difficult to ensure.” Please, read more here: https://www.today.com/health/nyc-hospital-responds-photos-nurses-wearing-trash-bags-t176939
What can we, the people who are locked in our houses and apartments, possibly do to help them? We might feel helpless and think that all we can do in this situation is to give medical professionals our moral support.
But this is not true. We all can help.
If you have extra personal protective supplies in your house, such as medical masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, donate.
Donate medical masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and other items to your local hospital. According to The Wall Street Journal, AMA President Dr. Patrice Harris said that the American Medical Association recommends anyone who has personal protective equipment to contact their local hospital or health department “to ensure these resources are appropriate and can be distributed based on need.” The Wall Street Journal also recommends visiting GetUsPPE.org https://getusppe.org/ for instructions submitted by health-care workers themselves, which include specifications for items they need most, as well as how to get those items to donation sites. The website is searchable by region and state. Please, read more here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-you-can-donate-protective-equipment-to-help-hospitals-fight-coronavirus-11585323638
Donate and tell your friends and family members to do the same. Spread the word. It should spread faster than coronavirus and we all want to beat it. We all are “in the same boat,” and we all want our medical professionals to be healthy in order to take care of their patients. We want doctors and nurses to be safe.
They will appreciate your help.
Your donation might save somebody’s life. Nurses and doctors are people, the same as we are, and they also don’t have immunity to this new virus. Let’s be in it together and support them. Let’s save their lives and the lives of their family members. We can do it. Thank you and God bless every family, every doctor and every nurse who is fighting right now with this invisible enemy.
Together, we will win.
Natalia Dagenhart
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