Denmark presents a more aggressive its testing policy -- now everyone exhibiting mild to moderate symptoms, newborns and their mothers, as well as those performing critical functions in the health sector, must be tested. But first, the supply of testing kits must be replenished.
At present, 232 COVID-19 patients are in hospital, 46 in the ICU. 13 have died.***
In Italy, a further 651 deaths. It has been a month since the first coronavirus patient was detected there. It is incredible that it has only been 14 days since their nation-wide lockdown on the 8th.
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In Germany, it is forbidden for more than two persons to meet up in public areas, and Chancellor Angela Merkel goes into quarantine.
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Around the world, 1 billion are now confined to their homes.
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Filipinos online mourn three doctors, all of whom have died from COVID-19. These deaths were preventable -- in one case, had a patient only disclosed their history of travel.
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I grew up on the campus of Silliman University, where my parents were both teachers. It is a place that has had a historic association with the United States, on account of its Presbyterian missionary founders. And for two generations and more, it has trained batch after batch of excellent nurses, many with their eyes set on careers in America (and more recently, the UK, Australia, Ireland, the rest of the world) after gaining enough experience in local hospitals. There is a high proportion of nurses as well as doctors, medical technologies and physiotherapists, among my contemporaries and close friends from back in the day. Of my 16 first cousins on my mother's side, 8 trained as nurses and all but one has worked in the States.
In a message yesterday one of them wrote: "Unfortunately the entire country is in dire need of all the equipment necessary to take care of COVID-19 patients. It is the government that needs to step up their game. Trump has no clue at all what is going on."
They are on an uneasy and already demoralized frontline.
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