Inamin ng isang health professional sa New Jersey na ang COVID-19 ang pinakamalala at pinakamatinding sakit na kanilang nakaharap.
Sa exclusive interview ng Star FM Baguio sa American Nurse na si Michael Kouridakis ng Holy Name Medical Center, ibinahagi nitong sa 12 taon niyang nagtatarabaho sa health care industry ay hindi pa siya nakaranas ng ganito kalalang sitwasyon sa isang kumakalat na sakit.
“This is the most frightening pandemic that I’ve ever been involved in. I’ve been a nurse for a long time, so I’ve been through HIV aids, SARS, MERS. These patients are gravely, gravely ill.”
Sinabi rin naman nito na ginagawa nila ang lahat para matulungan ang mga pasyente, pero isang malaking pagsubok ito dahil wala pang nahahanap na gamot para sa virus.
“There is no cure for this. This is an all new virus. Human beings have never been exposed to this so we have no natural immunity at all. While we do all we can to help them, there’s very little that we can do that we know will work. We do the things that we know will work and we hope that our supportive measures will help the patients get through. But there’s nothing magic. We have no weapons in our arsenal to meet this directly.”
Sinabi rin nito sa Star FM na kahit sila ay nasa Estados Unidos, nangangamba pa rin sila sa sakit at minsan ay nagkukulang rin sa mga medical supplies.
“N95 masks have become difficult to get. The hospital in which I work has a good supply of them as well as variance of the N95 and they seem to be effective. There are some hospitals that have already run out , or just didn’t have adequate supply. Adequate though doesn’t make most of us feel safe.”
Binabantayan din umano nila ang kapakanan ng bawat isa dahil bilang mga health care workers ay malaki ang tsansa nilang mahawahan ng virus.
Naniniwala naman itong bilang mga front liners ay kailangan rin nilang alagaan ang kanilang sarili para lalo pang makapag serbisyo sa publiko.
“In this country, we are even more nervous than you might think. So to my fellow caregivers, take care of yourself first. People are counting on us and we have to stay healthy. We have to stay smart. We have to remain vigilant. We must not rush blindly into situations without first considering the consequences. Always, always, always use your protective equipment. There is never a situation that you must rush into, that you can leave your gear behind. If you are not well enough to care for the patients, then there will be nobody to care for them.”
May mensahe rin naman ito para sa mga tao sa mundo na natatakot dahil sa kumakalat na sakit.
“There is no room for panic in this. It’s better to be prepared, to be informed, to listen to the voices of reason. Just be smart. Be prepared. Do not listen to hysterics.”
