Francisco Mora coordinates the Epidemiological Surveillance area of the IESS Quito Sur Hospital.
Francisco checks patients infected with covid-19 every day. Until before the health emergency, he lived with his grandparents, who are part of the risk group due to their advanced age.
“I am a source of contagion. I couldn’t do that to them, so I had to leave. ” The epidemiologist searched for a department. He found it, but he faced a fact that surprised him: “I was asked to leave because I was a health personnel,” he says calmly.
There is no rancor in his words and he even repeats that “it is understandable, since people are afraid.” In the second space, the owner telephoned him to explain that he fears for his family. Mora simply accepted. The good thing – he says with a laugh – is that the money paid was returned to him.
The hospital where he works is a sentinel for cases of covid-19. It has 192 beds inside and 180 outside the health facility, to treat these cases. Mora, at 29 years old, is the coordinator of Epidemiological Surveillance. And among other functions, it is in charge of reviewing people who arrive with respiratory symptoms and who are later diagnosed with the new strain of coronavirus.
As of Monday, April 27, 2020, 3 104 patients with respiratory illnesses have been treated. Of this number, 456 correspond to covid-19 suspects. They were screened with the computerized aerial tomography system, which aids in diagnosis. After this it was obtained that 308 people gave positive and 111 negative.
This closeness to patients has meant that he makes big changes in his life. Now the doctor lives between a hotel and the hospital. Most days he stays in the latter, which he considers his home.
“I took more turns to follow closely the dynamics of the pandemic.” He is not the only one who has exchanged his house for a hotel or hospital. Several of his colleagues have done the same. Some have joined and live together to avoid contagion from their families, he says.
The first days of the pandemic, he admits, complex situations were experienced. At first they had no food in the evenings. “Due to the curfew we were left without dinner.” That totally changed, as some companies supply them with food products.
“Of the 47 days we have been here, I think 35 have eaten pizza. We have food to continue our work. ” He also highlights the coordination between institutions that has been strengthened during the health emergency. They, for example, managed to increase their capacity by installing hospital tents.
Although it is true, in these, serious patients cannot be cared for, they are an aid for those who require hospitalization but not intravenous medication or oxygen therapy. “The Armed Forces gave us support and turned into joint work,” he says with satisfaction.
After nearly two months of the announcement of the first case in Ecuador, Francisco Mora affirms that he remains calm in the face of the evolution of this virus. In this hospital in southern Quito, there are still no infections among medical personnel. This is positive, since strict biosecurity protocols are used. “They know it is dangerous because of its easy transmission.
That is the reality of the profession, “concludes Francisco. (C.D.A.)
SOURCE: El Comercio
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