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Can you imagine spending a whole day in hospital or being around sick people or covid-19 patients during this pandemic situation? We, the ordinary people might not be ready to take this risk when the corona virus transmission is increasing day by day. In these difficult times the people who are in the frontline of the battle against the pandemic, risking their lives are the health care workers.

Covid-19 spreads between people through direct or indirect contact with contaminated surfaces or objects and who has close contact with infected people via mouth or nose secretions. Recently on July 9, WHO has acknowledged that corona virus can be airborne in closed settings that lack good ventilation or in such settings of prolonged exposure. Also studies have found out that exhaled breath of covid-19 patients can contain novel corona virus. In such situations enhanced measures for protection should be taken by health care workers.

Health workers are the people engaged in action whose primary intent is to enhance health. They are the unpaid and paid individuals who serve in health care setting with direct or indirect exposure to patients or their secretions and materials. The health care workers in different sectors are:

The health service providers like:

- Professionals: e.g. doctors and nurses

- Associates: e.g. laboratory technician, clinical trainees, volunteers, ASHA workers.

- Others: e.g. traditional practitioners.

 Health management and support worker:

- Professionals: e.g. accountant in a hospital

- Associates: e.g. administrative professional in a hospital.

- Support staff: e.g. clerical workers, drivers in a hospital, maintenance workers, medical waste handlers.

-  Craft and trade workers: e.g. painter and plumbers in a hospital

ARE HEALTH CARE WORKERS AT HIGH RISK OF CATCHING COVID-19?

Of course, being with infected people or at hospitals make them share their space with corona virus daily. But with proper protection these risks can be reduced and completely avoided. Let us see the situations, when they face high risks.

- The medical staffs in ICUs have high risk as they are exposed to severely ill patients and also because they perform high frequency of medical interventions and aerosol-generating procedures, intubation and nebulising.

-  Poor work conditions where there is a lack of protection gears like PPE kit, gloves masks etc with good quality also may pose high risks of getting infected.

- Also when the health care workers are made to do overtime shifts, they are degrading their own health and could be stressed out making them more susceptible to careless hygiene routines which results in getting affected with covid-19.

-  Apart from these, when proper testing strategies and daily checkups for the health care workers aren’t done, there is a chance of the health workers getting infected unknowingly. This could result in transmission of the virus to other colleagues, other ill patients and also to the family of the health care workers.

-  Lack of proper training regarding protection gears and disposal of them could also become a reason for the virus transmission.

-  Health care workers could also be affected with covid-19 when they are not quarantined after being exposed severely ill covid-19 patients. Ignorance towards the 14 days quarantining procedure could also pose a threat.

Difficulties faced by health care workers

The health care workers also face physical and mental exhaustion. They have to cope with difficult situations of treatment and the pain of losing patients and colleagues.

Also they are working for 8-12 hours on an average scale wearing all the protection gears. Being inside a PPE kit isn’t a comfortable state for them to work but they have no other choice. They have to limit their washroom visits by not drinking enough water and eating less because each time they remove their PPE kit, it gets contaminated.

Moreover, other than the risk of virus exposure, working for long hours and experiencing occupational distress; in some areas the health workers has to endure the physical violence and social stigmas from the society or the public.

Become a support and respect the health care workers