Lebanon’s medics describe ‘horror movie’ conditions
A doctor at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) has described the situation faced by medical staff dealing with coronavirus cases as “a horror movie as long as we are on the front line and we do not know when it will end.”
Dr. Osman Itani, a pulmonologist and intensive care specialist, told Arab News: “A single mistake made while wearing the protective equipment exposes all those taking care of patients suffering from COVID-19 to the virus. There have been several viruses that surfaced and killed many people before disappearing again. However, the problem with this virus is that it spreads rapidly. We usually treat pneumonia with antibiotics, but we are unable to treat the pneumonia resulting from the coronavirus.”
Dr. Itani is a veteran doctor who has worked in hospitals during the civil war and in the harshest security conditions. He considers “the war experience was less dangerous despite all its horrors. We used to treat patients knowing that they will not transmit anything to us or to others.”
“The number of intensive care specialists in Beirut ranges between 40 and 50 doctors, while there are around 180 pulmonologists. Those numbers are less in the rest of the country,” he noted, considering “the measures taken by the Ministry of Health and the government in terms of social distancing are the best to lower the number of cases. Cases in general range from mild to moderate. The number of uninfected people is usually larger than that of the confirmed cases.”
On Friday, the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases rose to 391 from 368 on Thursday. A new coronavirus-related death of a man in his 80s was recorded at Saint George University Hospital, which raised the number of such deaths in the country to seven deaths.
Pulmonologist and intensive care specialist, Wael Jaroush, told Arab News that “doctors are worried about transmitting the virus to their parents as there is no guaranteed protection. We are treating our patients through the phone and only receive emergency cases in our clinics, while also leaving a free half an hour between the appointments for sterilization purposes.” Supervisor nurse, Aida Al-Nouri, working at a Beirut hospital, told Arab News that “we are suffering from a shortage of sterilizers. We are living in a state of fear and confusion that we have not seen even during the city’s security crashes. None of those working in the ER knows when he will be infected in spite of all the precautions we are taking.”
“Nurses are scared and some of them do not want to work in the departments dedicated to coronavirusinfected patients unless proper protection is provided,” she said. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab visited RHUH and held a press conference alongside Minister of Health Hamad Hassan, urging the Lebanese people to “abide by the measures the government had taken.” He announced that more than 600,000 food baskets will be distributed to families affected by the lockdown and informed RHUH’s staff that they will be reimbursed by the state.
The Lebanese government extended the lockdown period for two additional weeks, while the director general of Civil Aviation, Fadi Hassan, announced that Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport will remain closed until April 12. A political dispute has erupted in the country concerning the repatriation of Lebanese nationals from Africa and Europe.
The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, criticized the government for refusing to send aircraft to bring back those stranded abroad after the deadline for them to return ended.
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On Friday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 391 from 368 on Thursday.
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