Many hospitals in the U.S., especially in New York, are overflowing with COVID-19 patients. Along with this, supplies and space have been running out.
According to a nurse located in Sacramento, she has been wearing the same N95 mask for the past week. Homemade fabric masks have recently been donated to her hospital. Even though the masks don’t protect her or her colleagues against COVID-19, they provide a sense of security, and as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) becomes scarce, the concern for the safety of first responders and patients rises.
As far as we know, doctors and nurses could be spreading the virus to patients, creating an incubator for the virus inside hospitals.
Health care workers are also concerned about bringing the virus back home to their family and loved ones. Some have moved into hotels to isolate themselves.
However, all this commotion, the stress, the anxiety, the fear, started from the lack of PPE.
Many individuals have been taking action to support first responders by donating homemade PPE.
For example, the Wang sisters have been creating handmade masks out of fabric.
Dr. Ahn-Quan Thinh Nguyen, an interventional cardiologist at the Sutter Health Hospital in San Jose, started making reusable face shields at home.