Medical personnel are on the frontline in the fight against the spread of the Coronavirus, caring for patients and helping those who need it.

However, people with certain conditions are at higher risk when contracting the virus, and some medical professionals unfortunately have to stay away from helping their colleagues, and the patients, because if this. This is an especially hard time for them.

“I couldn’t accept the fact that, at this delicate moment when my profession needs me the most, I will not be able to go to work,” charge nurse Svetlana Fenech, who is a diabetic, told the Malta Independent.  

Fenech has been a nurse for the last 20 years. “I have been a deputy charge nurse in theatres for four years, and was then was promoted to Charge nurse in the surgical ward which specializes in Pancreatic and Colorectal cancer and have been there for the last 2 and a half years.”

In a post on Facebook, Fenech shared her story during this crisis caused by COVID-19, and spoke about her particular situation which prevents her from working for the time being. “As a diabetic dependent on insulin, I will have to stay in preventive quarantine,” she said, highlighting that she falls under the category defining her as a vulnerable person in terms of the virus.

Amid the Coronavirus outbreak the government published a legal notice establishing the categories of vulnerable people who should remain at home in order to reduce the chances of local transmission. The applicability of this measure was limited to a number of vulnerable persons, one of them being insulin dependent diabetics, thus Fenech had to stop working and stay at home.

Hearing about the decision, Fenech said she was very angry both at the situation we are currently in but also at herself. “I wished that I was not diabetic and that I could still go to work unaffected by this measure in order to help together with my team in this crisis.” However, Fenech then realized that working in a hospital would put her at more risk of contracting the virus.

Having diabetes for almost 10 years “I could become one of the victims quite easily,” she said. As apart from being diabetic “I am also asthmatic”, thus the consequences of contracting the virus are far worse than normal, ‘healthy’ people.’ Such a virus like the coronavirus “could put me in the Intensive care unit, as being a diabetic I am immune suppressed, thus generally my body will take much more time to heal than an average person.”

Fenech added that “if I get sick I might not be able to help other patients once this saga ends. In many other countries quite a high number of healthcare workers have died due to complications and Malta is no exception.”

Although the virus might seem like a common cold to many of us, it is a highly contagious virus and in some cases it has a devastating impact on the lungs. Fenech said that “you do not need to have actual physical contact with a person to get infected as there are some instances were touching a contaminated surface is enough to contract it.”

She added that “unfortunately it was documented that 9 out of 10 infected people will have no symptoms, therefore the importance of staying at home is crucial.” We can’t let the virus affect ‘vulnerable’ people because once that happens there is no turning back.”

“We could easily end up like our neighbouring countries such as Italy, if the virus is not properly controlled,” she said.

“At the moment there is no cure for the virus as the vaccine is not yet available, so that makes staying inside even more important. The curve needs to be kept flat and it’s only that way that our health system can cope with the demand,” Fenech said.

It is impossible to help everyone at one go. She added that “although the resources at hand are increasing, if the number of patients spikes up sharply, the health system won’t be able to cope and several people will die.”

Fenech added that “the way the virus will develop in our country depends solely on us as citizens. We are the ones who have to be socially responsible by staying indoors in order to flatten the curve and safeguard the most vulnerable.”

This situation is a burden for everyone, but Fenech said that “we all have to do our share for the better good and try to turn this negative experience into a positive one as much as possible.”

In such circumstances “we are being given the opportunity to spend more time with our loved ones at home as well as the opportunity to reflect and meditate on what is truly important in our lives.”