“This is who we are and what we are made for. And it’s hard to sit on the sidelines… I have a moral obligation to share my skills.” (Dr. Anne Sacks-Berg, MD).
As I listened to Dr Sacks-Berg speaking to a CNN reporter, I was filled with renewed respect for all our heroes/heroines on the front line in the world’s response to COVID-19.
Sixty-seven-year-old Sacks-Berg, a highly rated Hospice & Palliative Medicine Specialist in Huntington, New York, retired last year after 28 years of service as a doctor. But when the call came from New York’s Mayor and other elected officials for retired health care workers to return to work, like many others, she heeded the call.
Thousands have also responded positively in countries that have made similar calls to assist in the fight against COVID-19.
Read this moving post on Facebook by Jessica Strauss, a nurse in New York. I have her permission to include her plea. Now is the time for those who flout Governments’ life-saving advice and put lives at risk to stop being selfish and to act responsibly. She said:
“Just because I’m a nurse and chose this profession doesn’t mean that every time I put on my gown, gloves, hair net, N95 mask, and eye shield means I am fine with it. Each time I suit up it gives me that anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach because covid_19 is real, and it isn’t a joke. I am a mother/wife/daughter/sister – I have my own people to protect. So, I am asking you to protect you and yours! Social distance yourself. Be cautious. Remember this isn’t about you or me, it is about us and the community. That vacation you had planned can wait. Get some perspective people! I go to work because I am a servant to humanity – it’s my duty. But please don’t make it harder on us. Do your part so I can do mine.”
Cheers also to the 52 Cuban doctors and nurses who are now in Italy to assist. There are countless others whom we should thank for keeping things going in these difficult times e.g. caregivers; those working in groceries, banks, sanitary departments, utility services etc.
In the UK on 20 March, the government released a full list of workers deemed “essential” to the COVID-19 response. The list has been separated into eight categories: Health and social care; Education and childcare; Key public services; Local and national government; Food and other necessary goods; Public safety and national security; Transport; Utilities, communication and financial services.
The UK’s Department for Education has published a list of “key workers” deemed “essential” and whose children will continue to be cared for at school amid the pandemic. Schools will only remain open for those who absolutely need to attend. (https://news.sky.com/).
I am in self-quarantine at the moment. I went to London to assist my sister who has had knee replacement surgery. However, after being there for a week, I received an
e-mail from British Airways informing me that due to continuing changes in travel restrictions, I was being offered the opportunity to rebook onto an earlier flight to T&T, as BA won’t be flying this route from 27 March.
Before I could rebook my flight, I found out that T&T’s borders were scheduled to close indefinitely at midnight on Sunday 22 March. After accepting that there are enough family members in London to assist my sister, I rebooked my ticket and left on Sunday 22 March. It was an eerie feeling arriving at Gatwick airport with hardly anyone around and all restaurants and pubs closed. On arrival at Piarco, I had my temperature checked and signed a form to comply with quarantine directions for 14 days – with consequences for breach.
Let’s pray for all who have lost their lives due to COVID-19, for their loved ones, and for those who have contracted the virus. Pope Francis has asked: “In a particular way, let us pray for the health care workers who have died in these days, who gave their lives in the service of the sick.”
He understands that while people may not be able to be close physically because of the risk of contagion, “we can reawaken in ourselves an attitude of being close together, with prayer, with help, in many ways.” Let’s recognise our common humanity and stand in solidarity with others. May God guide our leaders as they seek our best interests.
First Published in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian Newspapers
