WWII vet, 99, survives coronavirus in Brazil

BRASILIA/ROME (Reuters/AFP) – World War Two veteran Ermando Piveta, aged 99, became the oldest Brazilian to recover from the coronavirus on Tuesday.

Wearing an army cap and saluting from his wheelchair, Piveta left the Armed Forces Hospital in Brasilia to an ovation from medical staff and a soldier's trumpet homage.

"Winning this battle was for me bigger than winning the war," he said of his fight against an invisible enemy. "In war you kill or live. Here you have to fight to live," he added.

Piveta was a second lieutenant in the Brazilian Army forces during World War Two and served in Africa.

He tested positive for the coronavirus two weeks ago

and spent two days in the hospital's intensive care ward after he developed pneumonia.

But he never needed a ventilator and recovered due to his good physical shape derived from life in the military and longevity that runs in his family, the hospital's director said.

"He won another battle, this time against the new coronavirus," the military said in a statement,

Piveta's release from hospital was a bright moment in an otherwise darkening scenario as the epidemic hit Brazil with force this week. The coronavirus has infected 25,262 people and killed 1,532 people, the health ministry said on Tuesday, with 204 deaths just in the last 24 hours.

Doctors, nurses and healthcare workers have become the unwitting heroes of the coronavirus pandemic, winning applause from balconies and streets around the world.

From Yaounde to Rome to New York, the pandemic has infected more than 1.9 million people and claimed 118,000 lives.

Hospital workers are dealing with a huge influx of patients, while also facing a lack of equipment in many cases and the fear of becoming infected themselves. Often, they face heartbreaking decisions while treating their patients.

AFP journalists spoke to healthcare workers around the world to find out what it's really like to be on the frontline in the coronavirus pandemic.

'We can't get sick'

In Italy, one of the worst affected countries, dozens of doctors and nurses have died from COVID-19 and thousands of healthcare workers have become infected.

Silvana de Florio, nursing coordinator in the COVID-19 intensive care unit of the Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome, underlined the importance of being appropriately kitted out with masks, visors, gloves, scrubs and suits to avoid contagion.

"We don't set aside a specific amount of time for it, but we have estimated that for a seven-hour shift, about 40-50 minutes is spent just on getting dressed," she said.

"In terms of hand washing and hand decontamination, we are talking about 60-75 minutes per day," she said after scolding a care worker for not wearing a mask.

"Medical staff can't get sick -not so much because of their ability to work, but because it would not be fair."

In the Pacific port city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, a sick nurse makes no attempt to hide her anger: 80 of her colleagues have been infected and five have already died.

Ecuador is one of the worst affected countries in South America, with hundreds of dead bodies lying inside homes because the morgues are full.

"We went to war without any weapons," said the 55-year-old nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The necessary equipment was not ready when this (the pandemic) was already happening, devastating Europe," said the nurse, who is resting at home as there is no space in the hospitals.

Patients with "severe symptoms" were arriving at her emergency department, "but due to a lack of tests, they were treated as if they had the flu and sent home."

"We had no personal protective equipment (PPE) but we could not refuse to treat the patients," she said.