Health professionals are using social media to share the best weapon we have to fight COVID-19.
The photos are all different, but the signs are the same: “We stayed at work for you. You stay at home for us.”
Dr. Sandy Simons, an emergency medicine physician based in Virginia, took to Twitter with a picture of herself holding up the handwritten message on Thursday. In the photo, Simons is seen surrounded by six fellow hospital employees who are all wearing face masks.
“Right now in Virginia, it’s the calm before the storm,” Simons told TODAY Health. “It’s like standing on the shore and watching a tsunami coming. We’re scared for ourselves, for our parents, for kids.”
Adults over 65 years and those with existing medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes are more likely to develop a serious illness that leads to pneumonia and makes it difficult to breathe.
“A lot of times when we have patients with pneumonia, they turn around quickly and go home,” Simons revealed. “But in Italy, patients (with the coronavirus) are staying for seven to 10 days. There aren’t enough beds for all the new people who are continuing to get sick.”
Medical personnel are also making videos urging people to help “flatten the curve.” In a now-viral TikTok clip, two nurses take turns holding up paper signs with messages like, "Wash your hands" and “Take care of me and I’ll take care of you.”
Simons hopes the public is listening.
“If everyone gets sick at the same time, we’re going to have a shortage of supplies,” she explained. “Please stay home.”