(Jamaica Gleaner) The novel coronavirus which has been sweeping the globe and crippling economies as it unleashes a deadly assault had brought Cheryl Burnett face to face with scenarios that she never imagined would have unfolded in her lifetime.
The Jamaica-born nurse, who works at the Valley Hospital in New Jersey in the United States, is on the front lines of the battle against the deadly coronavirus, which has infected more than three million people globally and claimed more than 240,000 lives.
Burnett told The Sunday Gleaner that the situation was so dire that she had to be working around the clock to save lives.
“This virus is very serious and has all medical staff working long hours under very stressful conditions,” she said.
But that isn’t even the most difficult part of the job, she said.
“It is taking its toll on everybody. We have had to be making life-giving or life-taking decisions,” Burnett said.
“It is so hard to be faced with the option of deciding when to pull the plug on somebody’s life,” Burnett admitted, telling The Sunday Gleaner that her colleagues have to make such decisions regularly.
“I have witnessed over 50 deaths so far,” she said, adding that it is particularly difficult when they have to inform the families.
In the state of New Jersey, more than 7,500 persons have died from COVID-19 with at least 121,000 infected. A number of those who have succumbed have been registered as medical staff.
PPE SHORTAGE
The Jamaican is petrified at the shortage of personal protective equipment at healthcare facilities. However, in New Jersey and other states across the country, health workers are forced to recycle masks, which are an essential part of the gear to prevent patient-to-staff infection.
“We have had to be reusing masks. All of them are thrown into a pile and sterilised,” she told The Sunday Gleaner. “It is very scary as we are not sure what will happen to any one of us. Thankfully, so far, I have managed to stay healthy.”
Burnett has also been taking extra precautions to keep herself and her family safe when she returns home from work each day. She ensures that her clothes are removed and disinfected before she enters the door and takes a bath immediately upon entering the house.
“I have a responsibility to my loved ones. We all have to ensure that they do not suffer as a result of the work that we do,” she said.
The nurse is calling on Jamaicans to take guidelines and protocols issued to contain the spread of the virus seriously, as she is hoping that the land of her birth does not experience the mortality rates attributed to coronavirus in North America.
“Jamaicans need to take heed and practise social distancing. We already know to keep our surroundings clean, but this thing is not a joke,” she warned. “People who catch it and die sometimes are buried in mass graves. Their loved ones get no chance to say goodbye. The last time they see you is when you are taken to hospital. A lot of people are suffering because of this virus. Please, Jamaica, be careful and be warned.”
