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> We are very dependent upon those who work as clerks in gro ------=_Part_603666_1666685684.1587936444234 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi all. I am going to add my 2 cents to this debate.I am a physician,workin= g in the 2nd busiest emergency department in the province,after the Halifax= Infirmary. I also work as a family physician with a reasonably busy office= practice.I have,in the past 6 weeks,watched as 2 of my nurses were infecte= d with this virus from relatively minor exposures,and 15 others sent home t= o self-isolate. One of the nurses was in a high risk group. Several had chi= ldren. All of them worried they had brought this home to their families. On= e of them did.I worked 2 weeks in my office seeing patients in virtual visi= ts before it was announced that we would be paid,that is to say,I worked 2 = weeks knowing I might never get paid for the work I had done. I was prepare= d to continue this indefinitely, for the safety of my patients and of my of= fice staff.=C2=A0Every shift I work in emergency I must wear a mask the ent= ire 8-10 hour shift, except if I take a break to eat or drink. I can only t= ake a break if there are not already 2 unionized staff taking their mandate= d breaks in our break room,as I am not permitted to removed the mask in a c= linical care area. You can probably guess how many breaks I get this way. I= also must take my temperature,and record it along with any symptoms I migh= t have like a runny nose,cough,fever etc, at the beginning and the end of m= y shift. I also have to change into hospital issue scrubs,and at the end of= my shift wipe my phone,shoes and ID down with bleach, before showering. Wh= en I go home my clothing goes straight into the washer. I have special scru= bs to wear to and from work. I no longer bother to pack a lunch or snacks.A= lthough our department is seeing fewer visitors,we are still having signifi= cant wait times. Why? Because each room has to be thoroughly cleaned after = each patient,as we have to assume any of our patients may have the virus an= d just not have symptoms,so where we used to have one cleaner,we now have 5= working their arses off. The OR's are working in similar conditions. Any p= erson coming in to the hospital is assumed to be covid positive until prove= n otherwise. Cancer surgeries are still going on in our hospital,but nothin= g that can be put off such as hips and knees. Why not? Not because we might= need the beds,although we might,but because hospital acquired infection is= a real threat. Go in for a knee surgery,come out with a covid-19 infection= . The very hospitals that house hip and knee surgeries are also the hospita= ls with covid units. Keep in mind as well that the test for this virus,like= every other diagnostic test,has a failure rate,so although the test is neg= ative,you might still have the virus. Also keep in mind that most hip and k= nee surgeries are carried out on elderly patients,the very people meet at r= isk of dying with infection.I haven't seen my 81 year old father in 2 month= s. He's stuck in Toronto because neither my sister nor myself can quarantin= e for 2 weeks and we are not keen to have him enter a flying cesspool at th= e moment.I haven't gone anywhere but work and the occasional grocery shopin= g trip in 2 months.=C2=A0Our hospital system was overstretched before we go= t into a pandemic. Do you think it is doing any better now?=C2=A0Our emerge= ncy departments were on their knees begging for help before the pandemic. D= o you think we have it now?=C2=A0Please,stay home. It is working,we are fla= ttening the curve. That is the reason=C2=A0 we only have 3 cases in the pro= vinces ICU's. No one is enjoying this,and no one is profiting from this. Pe= ople who think they know better should maybe,just maybe,trust that public h= ealth knows what they are doing. This is not indefinite. We will be free so= oner if we all follow the rules.Stay the blazes home. Please.Dr. Margaret F= raserPresident, Cape Breton Medical Staff Association ------=_Part_603666_1666685684.1587936444234 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi all. I am going to add my 2 cents to this debate.<div id=3D"yMail_cursor= ElementTracker_1587934920348">I am a physician,working in the 2nd busiest e= mergency department in the province,after the Halifax Infirmary. I also wor= k as a family physician with a reasonably busy office practice.</div><div i= d=3D"yMail_cursorElementTracker_1587934965887">I have,in the past 6 weeks,w= atched as 2 of my nurses were infected with this virus from relatively mino= r exposures,and 15 others sent home to self-isolate. One of the nurses was = in a high risk group. Several had children. All of them worried they had br= ought this home to their families. One of them did.</div><div id=3D"yMail_c= ursorElementTracker_1587935046364">I worked 2 weeks in my office seeing pat= ients in virtual visits before it was announced that we would be paid,that = is to say,I worked 2 weeks knowing I might never get paid for the work I ha= d done. I was prepared to continue this indefinitely, for the safety of my = patients and of my office staff. </div><div id=3D"yMail_cursorElementT= racker_1587935112093">Every shift I work in emergency I must wear a mask th= e entire 8-10 hour shift, except if I take a break to eat or drink. I can o= nly take a break if there are not already 2 unionized staff taking their ma= ndated breaks in our break room,as I am not permitted to removed the mask i= n a clinical care area. You can probably guess how many breaks I get this w= ay. I also must take my temperature,and record it along with any symptoms I= might have like a runny nose,cough,fever etc, at the beginning and the end= of my shift. I also have to change into hospital issue scrubs,and at the e= nd of my shift wipe my phone,shoes and ID down with bleach, before showerin= g. When I go home my clothing goes straight into the washer. I have special= scrubs to wear to and from work. I no longer bother to pack a lunch or sna= cks.</div><div id=3D"yMail_cursorElementTracker_1587935365712">Although our= department is seeing fewer visitors,we are still having significant wait t= imes. Why? Because each room has to