Stay at Home Orders Save Lives

We recognize the economic hardship the stay at home orders has caused, but many lives have been saved because of the isolation and social distancing instituted so far. To put it bluntly, relaxing restrictions prematurely would get people killed and overwhelm our healthcare system. In particular, it will endanger the lives of our healthcare workers even more than they already are.

Yes, many infected people may not have any symptoms. But for those who do, and for those who become very ill, this is a terrible disease, unlike any other.

Below are the comments of a Utah physician who traveled to New York to help at the Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan – the eye of the storm. He is witnessing an inferno of death.

“4 out of 5 patients don’t make it out of the hospital. It’s such a rarity to see a survivor that the hospital PA system plays “Don’t Stop Believing” when a COVID conqueror is discharged from the facility. ICU space is so limited that two patients are crowded into a single ICU room without barriers. John shared the chilling story of one intubated patient watching, wide-awake (sedation medicine is scarce), as his roommate died a respiratory death.”

“I’m angry and terrified and so exhausted from watching people die.”

“We have an all hands on deck policy because we are on such short staff. Already a handful of nurses and physicians — including a resident — in the area have died. I am so scared.”

These comments are from an Op Ed in the Salt Lake Tribune written by Eric Stulberg, resident physicians from the University of Utah, quoting his colleagues from around the country. Read full Salt Lake Tribune article here.