Your hoarding could cost me my life — a doctor’s view from the coronavirus front lines
LA TimesAs a doctor working in a Los Angeles public hospital, I don’t have the choice of telecommuting or working from home. Up until last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that medical professionals treating patients suspected of having coronavirus use N95 masks, which confer the highest level of protection. And yet, every day we see photos in the newspaper of people going about their ordinary lives wearing professional-quality masks to protect themselves instead of simply staying home. It’s frustrating to see those covered faces when I know that doctors and nurses on the front line already desperately need the masks. If even a fraction of doctors and nurses get sick, you won’t get the medical care you need if you fall seriously ill from a coronavirus — or a heart attack or anything else.