‘It’s like going to war without guns’
World rallies to help Italy, now epicenter of the coronavirus
People in the U.S. and beyond are rallying to send aid to Italy, where the COVID-19 pandemic has grown so dire that one Italian doctor in Massachusetts compared it to “going to war without guns.”
Italy’s civil protection chief, Angelo Borrelli, on Friday said the country recorded 627 more deaths in the 24 hours since Italy surpassed China on Thursday as the nation with the most coronavirus-related deaths. On Saturday, the number of dead surged to 4,825, most of whom had pre-existing conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes.
Numerous Gofundme accounts have been started to raise money for overwhelmed Italian hospitals, some of which have made desperate, online appeals for financial aid.
“It’s like going to war without guns,” said cancer researcher Dr. Giovanni Abbadessa, an Italian and Winchester resident whose father, an Italian oncologist, has so few face masks that he has had to sterilize them with alcohol and reuse them so that he can continue to see his most urgent patients.
Abbadessa, who also is an oncologist, said he fears for his father and other colleagues in Italy because as of Friday, 14 doctors were among the dead.
Nearly two weeks ago, he ordered 200 masks for clinicians in Milan, where he trained.
And the organization he founded, Italian Professionals of Boston, is urging people to donate to the Italian Red Cross.
“We decided we needed to give to a national organization that’s doing amazing work there and is not controlled by politicians,” Abbadessa said.
Stefano Fagiuoli, the head of the Department of Medicine at Papa Giovanni Hospital in Bergamo, Italy, meanwhile, posted a video on Facebook Thursday, saying his hospital desperately needs more doctors, nurses and supplies.
The hospital is so overwhelmed, the intensivecare unit is taking almost no patients older than 70 in order to prioritize people with the greatest chance of surviving, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Fagiuoli asked people to donate to a Gofundme account set up by a non-governmental organization for funds to buy more ventilators, single-use glasses and protective gear, including disposable masks, surgical caps, scrubs and gloves. As of Friday, the account had reached more than 925,000 euros of its 1.5 million euro goal.
Realize Networks, a talent agency representing chefs and lifestyle celebrities, also has started a GoFundme page to raise money for the Policlinic of Milan. It had reached more than 14,500 euros of its 2.5 million euro goal as of Friday.
Another website, italianonprofit.it, allows people to donate directly to Italian hospitals and fundraising campaigns authorized by health care facilities.
Although Abbadessa is heartened by the generosity of Americans who are donating to Italian hospitals, he fears that it could reinforce the idea that this is “an Italian problem.”
“It’s great to help Italy because Italy needs help,” he said. “But people here think they don’t need help. This is what worries me.”