The repercussions of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to the medical community

To the Editor,

The novel coronavirus (nCoV), commonly known as COVID-19 (2019-nCoV), is one of the most pernicious viruses to ever occur in the world. The coronavirus disease causes the rising death tolls around the world.¹ The COVID-19 destroys, if not the lives, the livelihoods of the people, resulting in job losses, financial difficulties, starvation and pain among the family members because of a lost loved one. The coronavirus continues to spread because of people’s mobility and the ‘unpreparedness’ of nations in this unexpected event brought about by COVID-19. The medical communities, even if prepared, are not foreseeing, to some extent, the negative impact of the virus, which generates fear and psychological distress among individuals.² It is from the above mentioned reasons that countries declared a public health crisis within their territories because of COVID-19. One among the many observed problems, particularly in the medical field and health care profession, is the shortage of medical supplies and equipment, which resulted, to some extent, in many deaths among health care workers themselves. Hence, this correspondence reiterates the need for support to our medical and health heroes, our frontliners in this time of COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the continuous battle against COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE) is now in high demand. PPEs guarantee the safety of health care workers and protect them from incurring the disease.³ The UK is currently encountering a need for PPEs due to hoarding and lack of supply. Consequently, some health personnel are forced to face the deadly COVID-19 without sufficient protection. The University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital stated that health workers who are managing COVID-19 patients should wear PPEs, which consist of coveralls, surgical caps, N-95 masks, scrub suits, goggles or face shields, double gloves, dedicated shoes and shoe covers.⁴ The PPEs ensure the safety of all health care workers. However, with insufficient supplies of PPEs, many health personnel have lost their lives against the dangerous COVID-19, leaving behind their grieving families and loved ones. As a result, there is another impending issue in the medical field surfaces—the shortage of health care workers. This is apart from other reasons of the shortage of manpower in hospitals and medical facilities.⁵ Recently, the Philippine General Hospital was alarmed by the shortage of doctors in the COVID-19 ward.⁶ With the lack of medical workers, the health care system will not be able to operate.⁷ Hence, the health care system will not be able to provide optimal care, and services to their patients will be entirely affected.⁸ We cannot afford losing our medical and health care heroes anymore at this perilous time of COVID-19.

As a realization, whenever we are faced with a crisis, such as this COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to recognize the effort and value of our health care professionals. They are risking their lives for us to be safe and free from worries. What we can do to them, in return, is to continue doing our minimal contribution by observing the basic health protocol against COVID-19. As we continue to listen to the stories our medical and health care heroes in performing their noble task in this time of health crisis, we can also include them in our prayers. We, the general public, can contribute and make use of our time productively, for helping our medical heroes, by way of meditating and lifting our supplications to the Divine Creator for the safety of everyone, especially our doctors, nurses and other personnel in the hospitals. This will also serve as our means or way to communicate and be connected to God. When faced with difficulties in life, one must not lose hope. Maintaining an ‘enlightening’ spirit, like at this time of health crisis, can poster a ‘good’ and challenging perception to our humanity, with great life lessons awaiting for us to discover. Thus, during this world health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to appreciate the valuable efforts rendered by everyone, especially our medical and health care heroes, which makes us realize the value and importance of being alive.

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