Hospitals in Wuhan are in dire straits. Even with the newly-built Huoshenshan hospital, resources are stretched thin.
Medical workers from all over China have been travelling to Wuhan to treat the thousands of confirmed cases and monitor the pending ones.
Sadly, with the ever-growing number of infections, the extra manpower doesn’t mean less work. As if heading to Wuhan wasn’t enough of a sacrifice, they’re forced to work overtime just to cope with the sheer number of patients.
They spend such long hours in their personal protective equipment (PPE) that they’ve gotten literal battle scars from their fight against the coronavirus.
Pictures of their mask marks have been trending on Chinese mainstream media under a hashtag which translates to “mask marks on a medical worker’s face”.
Read on to see how painful the mask marks look.
The PPE differs from hospital to hospital, but is always full-coverage, leaving no gaps for exposure.
They give maximum protection against the virus, by preventing the wearers from having direct contact with patients as much as possible. It’s crucial that they’re not infected so they can keep working.
Given that they spend long hours in close proximity with the patients, the medical workers are especially susceptible to infection. That’s why they need secure uniforms to keep them safe.
All suits come with airtight goggles to protect the wearer’s eyes. With the masks and hairnets on too, the suits can get really warm and even difficult to breathe in.
Sometimes, their vision can even get cloudy from their sweat condensing on their goggles.
The goggles and masks are tight on their own, and the medical workers wear them for hours on end, leaving deep indentations on their faces.
Some workers’ marks are so deep, you can make out the pattern of the masks they were wearing.
Some workers have even gotten redness and sores from the masks. Imagine how painful that must be!
Medical workers’ jobs are taxing enough on a normal day. We can’t even begin to imagine the physical, mental and emotional stress they’re going through while being on the front lines of the coronavirus battle.
With a vaccine in the works, we hope that the situation can be quelled in the near future so medical workers can have a well-deserved break.
Featured image adapted from Weibo.
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