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Speaking on Channel 4 news, the CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations Dr Richard Hatchett explained the long-term dangers of the Covid-19 coronavirus - saying it's the scariest outbreak he's dealt with in his 20-year career. Following the broadcast, he was condemned by politicians and some scientists as 'causing unnecessary alarm' and panic amongst the population. But now, an Italian doctor involved in the epidemic-like outbreak in Italy has said that politicians and the media in general should stop liking the Coronavirus (Covid-19) to influenza! In his account of what is going on in Italy in their attempts to tackle the virus, shared on Facebook, Dr Daniele Macchini likened the disease to a "tsunami that has swept us all". Italy is the scene of Europe's worst Coronavirus outbreak, the speed of which is similar to that of China in its first days of the outbreak. The UK media reports that Italian doctors are making comparisons to war-time triage medics deciding who lives, who dies and who gets access to the limited number of intensive unit beds.
Sky News reported this morning, that Dr Macchini said, Quoting from his Facebook posting, the Sky News report added: Dr Macchini spoke of his hospital preparing and reorganising in anticipation of a widespread outbreak. "All this rapid transformation brought in the corridors of the hospital an atmosphere of surreal silence and emptiness that we still did not understand, waiting for a war that was yet to begin and that many (including me) were not so sure would ever come with such ferocity," he wrote. The doctor added: "The situation is now nothing short of dramatic. No other words come to mind. "The war has literally exploded and the battles are uninterrupted day and night," he said. "Let's stop saying it's a bad flu," he said. "In these two years I have learned that the people of Bergamo do not come to the emergency room for nothing. They behaved properly this time too. They followed all the indications given: a week or ten days at home with a fever without going out and risking contagion, but now they can't take it anymore." "They don't breathe enough, they need oxygen." You can read Dr Macchini's full Facebook posting at the end of this article. With Boris Johnson appearing to be playing down the dangers of the disease, and claiming that most people will only get minor symptoms, and even suggesting that some consider taking no action and carrying on as normal and 'take it on the chin' when speaking on the This Morning show last week; this latest news will come as a shock to many who believe the PM's advice is sound. Speaking last week on the Channel 4 News programme, Dr Richard Hatchett made an unambiguous argument that this virus has the potential to be similar to that of major epidemics such as the outbreak of Spanish Flu in 1918, and the Ebola virus. He pointed out that in less than two weeks in Italy, the rate of infection went from 3 cases to 3,300 and said that we could be looking at infection rates as high as 50 to 70% of the world's population! He did however say that this potential is not one that we are locked into and that it all depends upon how the UK tackles the outbreak. Referring to Singapore where the infection rates have been slow dues to their public health actions and China where cases have now slowed down. He also said that he though the UK was doing a good job and not playing down the potential damage the virus could cause. He also added that the death rates and infection rates compared to seasonal flu are ten times higher and that this virus is more virulent than flu and requires dramatic practices to slow down the disease. Here you can watch the full 19 minute interview:
The full Facebook posting of the account by Dr Macchini has been translated by Dr Silvia Stringhini which was posted originally by the World Economic Forum: "After much thought about whether and what to write about what is happening to us, I felt that silence was not responsible .I will therefore try to convey to people far from our reality what we are living in Bergamo in these days of Covid-19 pandemic. I understand the need not to create panic, but when the message of the dangerousness of what is happening does not reach people I shudder. I myself watched with some amazement the reorganization of the entire hospital in the past week, when our current enemy was still in the shadows: the wards slowly 'emptied', elective activities were interrupted, intensive care were freed up to create as many beds as possible. All this rapid transformation brought an atmosphere of silence and surreal emptiness to the corridors of the hospital that we did not yet understand, waiting for a war that was yet to begin and that many (including me) were not so sure would ever come with such ferocity. I still remember my night call a week ago when I was waiting for the results of a swab. When I think about it, my anxiety over one possible case seems almost ridiculous and unjustified, now that I've seen what's happening. Well, the situation now is dramatic to say the least.
The boards with the names of the patients, of different colours depending on the operating unit, are now all red and instead of surgery you see the diagnosis, which is always the damned same: bilateral interstitial pneumonia. Now, explain to me which flu virus causes such a rapid drama. [post continues comparing Covid19 to flu, link here]. And while there are still people who boast of not being afraid by ignoring directions, protesting because their normal routine is 'temporarily' put in crisis, the epidemiological disaster is taking place. And there are no more surgeons, urologists, orthopedists, we are only doctors who suddenly become part of a single team to face this tsunami that has overwhelmed us. Cases are multiplying, we arrive at a rate of 15-20 admissions per day all for the same reason. The results of the swabs now come one after the other: positive, positive, positive. Suddenly the E.R. is collapsing. Reasons for the access always the same: fever and breathing difficulties, fever and cough, respiratory failure. Radiology reports always the same: bilateral interstitial pneumonia, bilateral interstitial pneumonia, bilateral interstitial pneumonia. All to be hospitalized. Someone already to be intubated and go to intensive care. For others it's too late... Every ventilator becomes like gold: those in operating theatres that have now suspended their non-urgent activity become intensive care places that did not exist before. The staff is exhausted. I saw the tiredness on faces that didn't know what it was despite the already exhausting workloads they had. I saw a solidarity of all of us, who never failed to go to our internist colleagues to ask, 'What can I do for you now?' Doctors who move beds and transfer patients, who administer therapies instead of nurses. Nurses with tears in their eyes because we can't save everyone, and the vital parameters of several patients at the same time reveal an already marked destiny. There are no more shifts, no more hours. Social life is suspended for us. We no longer see our families for fear of infecting them. Some of us have already become infected despite the protocols. Some of our colleagues who are infected also have infected relatives and some of their relatives are already struggling between life and death. So be patient, you can't go to the theatre, museums or the gym. Try to have pity on the myriad of old people you could exterminate. We just try to make ourselves useful. You should do the same: we influence the life and death of a few dozen people. You with yours, many more. Please share this message. We must spread the word to prevent what is happening here from happening all over Italy. I finish by saying that I really don't understand this war on panic. The only reason I see is mask shortages, but there's no mask on sale anymore. We don't have a lot of studies, but is it panic really worse than neglect and carelessness during an epidemic of this sort?" Source: Facebook / Sky News
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But, Dr Macchini spoke candidly of the terrible pressures facing his colleagues in a country that has seen a reported total of 463 virus-related deaths and more than 9,000 confirmed cases in just over two weeks. The doctor, from the Humanitas Gavazzeni hospital in Bergamo, northern Italy, works in one of the country's worst affected areas.
The war has literally exploded and battles are uninterrupted day and night. But now that need for beds has arrived in all its drama. One after the other the departments that had been emptied fill up at an impressive pace.