“Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced in a
press release today that it is working in four Italian hospitals, where shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) have left many healthcare workers exposed to the virus. About 1,700 healthcare workers (8% of the total cases in Italy) are now infected, and some have died.
"Even in high-level European hospitals, we see health workers are overwhelmed, coping with up to 80 ambulances per day, with dramatic shortages of protective equipment that puts them at great risk," said Claudia Lodesani, MD, MSF president in Italy. "Some doctors are forced to wear the same face mask for 12 hours."
Lessons from the front lines
The Lombardy doctors said that two major measures may have alleviated the severe stress the outbreak has placed on the region's health systems: an immediate increase in COVID-19 lab testing and creation of a large facility just for infected patients. But more must be done to quell the pressure. "Importantly, the forecasts show that increasing ICU capacity is simply not enough," they said. "More resources should be invested to contain the epidemic."
Their experience, they wrote, suggests that healthcare systems not organized in collaborative emergency networks should create one and that strict enforcement of community quarantines is needed. "In practice, the health care system cannot sustain an uncontrolled outbreak, and stronger containment measures are now the only realistic option to avoid the total collapse of the ICU system," they said.”
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Doctors: COVID-19 pushing Italian ICUs toward collapse