Yesterday I spoke to a constituent who is a critical care specialist. He tested positive for COVID-19 and hasn't worked in 10 days. He's a immigrant from North Africa. Leaving details out to protect his identity, but I'm still reeling at his comments (thread):
1/ "I work at two hospitals. One is a safety net hospital. I am embarrassed that I live in the United States and have to re-use my N95 mask"
2/ "80% of the patients I see test positive for COVID-19. I know the outside of my mask is infected. But I have to save my mask every day in a brown bag with my name on it to use again the next day"
3/ "I lost my sense of taste and smell. I had fever and muscle ache but thankfully didn't have to be admitted to the hospital. I want to get back to work, but I'm not a hero. This is my job."
4/ "[Hospital 1] had sufficient ventilators and we were able to handle the surge. Smaller, Medicaid-dependent hospitals like [Safety net hospital] didn't. The likelihood a patient survives at [SNH] is much lower. They are 20 minutes apart."
5/ "Resources should not be directed that way. [SNH] has a much higher African American population and that explains a lot of the racial disparities we're seeing. It compounds the food deserts and historic public health disparities in poor communities."
6/ "Dictators from [country of birth] remind me of Trump. Someone who is responsible for killing 40,000 people should be forced to resign."
7/ "We have doctors and nurses dying just because they don't have a mask. Why aren't more people speaking out about this? It's causing death."
8/ "Remember in the Iraq war when Bush went to visit the troops and was asked why he didn't have armor on Humvees? It's the same thing. Protection is protection. If you are praising frontline workers you have to protect them from infection."
9/ This should make us angry. An immigrant who came here. Who is saving our lives. Who can't understand Americans tolerate a fragile ego in a big suit who puts those same lives in danger. We're better than this, dammit. /fin
