While Belgium has reported nearly 4,300 infections and 122 deaths, hospitals are forced to let their patients out to free beds for patients with coronavirus. The country's 32,000 home nurses, who care for these often elderly and isolated people, are under increasing pressure.
A Belgian nurse at home, Hajar Atila is forced to leave her clothes in her garage (they will be washed at high temperature) and take a shower before going home and taking her children in her arms. After visiting around twenty patients affected by chronic diseases during the day, these actions are important to minimize the spread of the virus, and protect their families.
Read also: LIVE - Coronavirus: 838 people died in 24 hours in Spain, it's a new record
The manager of the home care company Infirmiere Nursante, employing eight people in Brussels, regretted to Reuters the shortages of protective equipment and the risk of contamination that nurses sentenced to run pharmacies and supermarkets run for their patients. isolated and fragile. " We are afraid for our families, for our patients, we are afraid of precipitating their deaths because they are fragile, sometimes in palliative care ," Atila, 30, told Reuters.
“ It's not just about showering our patients. They need to be injected with insulin, sometimes they are on dialysis, chemotherapy, or antibiotic therapy. Sometimes we are the only person an elderly person receives during the day, ”she said.
Read also: Coronavirus: caregivers sometimes also victims of rejection, Édouard Philippe deplores "scandalous words"
Hajar Atila, Belgian home nurse. Yves Herman / Reuters
Due to high exposure to the coronavirus and the lack of adequate protection, health professionals represent 4% of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Belgium, said a spokesman for the ministry of health on Tuesday. Faced with the shortage of equipment, a federation of hospitals and care homes in the Belgian regions of Brussels and Wallonia called for private donations.
" The first emergency concerns personal protective equipment: blouses, glasses, shoe covers and of course masks, " explained Valérie Victoor of Santhea. In response to the call, Audrey Jacques, an artist and stylist stuck at home since the confinement declared on March 18 in Belgium, spent time producing homemade masks: “ It's our job. If we can help, we are also there for that, it keeps us busy and helps those around us. "
Read also: Coronavirus: homemade masks, always "better than nothing"
Sami Farjallah, Belgian home nurse. Yves Herman / Reuters
In Italy and France too, the lack of equipment is felt in hospitals and on the side of home helpers.
In addition, many caregivers show their faces drawn by fatigue and damaged by the wearing, for long hours each day, of their protective equipment.
Read also: Coronavirus: high risk of infection for doctors and nurses