Medical staff at a hospital in Coahuila in northern Mexico, where five doctors have died from exposure to the coronavirus, sent out a message of solidarity and hope over the weekend.

Clad in masks and blue scrubs, doctors and nurses taped a white piece of paper to a hospital window in the isolation area emblazoned with the handwritten message, “We are going to get through this,” and formed hearts with their fingers. 

Staff at the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) General Hospital in Monclova had been hit particularly hard by the virus, with at least 32 medical personnel testing positive for it in early April, prompting the newspaper Milenio to call the city Mexico’s Wuhan.

IMSS director Zoé Robledo Aburto conceded that errors, delays and oversights crippled the hospital’s ability both to treat patients and keep staff safe during the initial outbreak, and offered condolences to families, friends and coworkers of those who died due to the coronavirus. “This should never have happened in Monclova or anywhere else,” he said at a press conference. 

Robledo also announced that his office will be investigating mistakes made at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak in Monclova, and conduct a review of hospital protocols. 

The hospital has two wings and only one will be used for treating coronavirus patients while the other will be used to treat cancer patients. Births and critical medical emergencies will be redirected to other medical facilities, including private hospitals that have entered into an agreement with the government to treat overflow patients during the pandemic.

Personal protective equipment is also on its way to Monclova, he said, in the form of hazmat suits, and Robledo promised that testing and lab results will be expedited.  

Currently, Coahuila has 340 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 33 deaths and 38 patients who have recovered.

Source: El Universal (sp)