Taiwan’s medical workers are the heroes on the frontline of its fight against COVID-19, and one Taichung-area hospital has documented just how much they do to fight the disease in a new video.
The Taichung Hospital is a public hospital which is taking in COVID-19 patients. The hospital recently produced a video to show what its medical staff has had to go through every day since the pandemic reached Taiwan.
After a daily morning meeting, it’s on with the protective gear. Donning it properly takes ten full minutes. Each COVID-19 patient is assigned two medical workers, ensuring that backup is always available if it is needed. They can also get work done more quickly this way, with one of them administering tests while the other readies medical equipment.
The hours can be brutal. After the first evacuation flight carrying Taiwanese nationals from Wuhan arrived, twelve of the passengers tested positive for COVID-19. All were sent to this hospital, and one doctor on the team says he worked 24 hours that day without stopping.
Ordinary Taiwanese people, including some of the patients, are trying in their own small ways to show their appreciation. One staff member asked an old patient why he always slept with a mask on. The man replied that he didn’t want her to get COVID-19.
Family members of the staff have their backs, too, and they appear in the video, too, sending their good wishes.