XXI century, October. Soon there will be a time when the world is trying to fight against COVID-19 - a virus that spares neither children nor adults. By the end of this autumn, the medicine against the coronavirus should reach Ukrainian hospitals - the head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov informed about the arrival of the drug "Remdesivir" in our country. In addition, Ukraine plans to purchase immunoglobulins for patients in whom COVID-19 has caused complications. However, despite the good news and optimistic forecasts of officials, the situation in Odessa is far from the best.
HOSPITALS ARE FULL, THERE ARE NO PLACES
As of today, more than 70% of the beds allocated for the treatment of coronavirus patients in six regions of Ukraine and Kyiv are filled. This is evidenced by the data of the Ministry of Health. Social networks shake videos of ambulance queues at specialized medical institutions: neither adults nor old people are accepted - paramedics simply do not know where to take patients.
Andrey from Odessa (the name of the patient has been changed) did not feel the symptoms of the coronavirus disease immediately. He says: at first the mother-in-law had suspicions, and when the whole family underwent PCR testing, the diagnosis was confirmed for him and his father. The mayor accepted, the ambulance was released - only they waited for more than two hours. And it's a miracle that they were accepted for treatment, says the man.
- Actually, it's scary. We did not panic, as I partly understood from the symptoms that it was the coronavirus. The ambulance took us away, but we stood for several hours. The doctors said that they don't know what to do, maybe we will lie in the corridor, maybe someone will be discharged or someone, God forbid, will die and they will take us in their place. That's how it turned out - two beds became available, a married couple was sent home, and we were accepted. I don't know what happened to the others, I didn't see them here, - recalls our hero.
In this case, it's about the good old "infectious", however, the fact is another: if someone else doesn't die, you can die. Your neighbor will recover - you can apply for treatment. We are returning to the period of panic and the primitive system, when people lived according to the principle "who gets up first, gets his slippers."
In total, hospital beds of the first wave for patients with COVID-19 in Ukraine are filled by 62,3%, and in the Odesa region by 85,6%.
In addition, hospitals in the following regions are the busiest: Luhansk (83,9%), Donetsk (83,7%), Kharkov (75%), Dnepropetrovsk (73,3%) and Vinnytsia (70,8%). In Kyiv, this indicator is 70,6%.
— Chambers are full, that's a fact. There are some medicines, we buy some, we ask them to buy them for us, sometimes there are queues for devices - but these are all little things, the main thing is to get to the hospital. My friend was simply sent home, although the temperature was off the charts. Do you know what I want to say? People, wear masks - such a simple measure of protection, and we neglect it so much. If you don't want to think about yourself, think about others, - summarizes Andrey.
WAITING FOR DIAGNOSIS
Confirmation of the diagnosis of COVID-19 is a separate story. The price of testing in private laboratories ranges from 1500 hryvnias to 2000 hryvnias. The result is in a day or two. They are duplicated both in e-mail and in SMS-messages. It is, of course, possible to pass it for free - only waiting for the result will take 10-14 days. And during this time, as you know, you can either bring yourself to pneumonia, or, in the best case, get sick, but infect your entire contact environment.
This is what happened to our second heroine, Ekaterina. She is a mother of three children, a teacher. He felt pain in his back and slight malaise, complained of a cold or kidneys. Got to an appointment with the family doctor, found out that she already had fluid in her lungs. The doctor, of course, immediately sent for examination, including PCR. Ekaterina did it for free as directed, and then in one of the private laboratories together with the children.
I had tests 3 weeks ago. The result from a private clinic - read "for money" - I received it the very next day, and, fortunately, I did not have the coronavirus - pneumonia and a runny nose were treated according to the standard protocol. I managed to recover, go to work, and I am still waiting for the results of the free testing, - our interlocutor laughs sadly.
Simple math: PCR testing must be done at least twice - when diagnosing the disease and re-checking. Two analyzes + medications + protective means will cost you at least 5000 hryvnias. And what to do if the repeated test also shows a positive result, as did one of the Odessa media workers?
— In short, the coronavirus cost me three weeks of vacation and 10000 hryvnias in losses. Taxis and masks would be cheaper, - summed up journalist Viktor Tytovenko (name and surname changed - approx. ed).
WHAT DO THE DOCTORS SAY?
In two days, the "Corporation of Monsters" charity fund collected 417783 hryvnias for the purchase of oxygen concentrators, vitally necessary for elderly patients with the coronavirus, who were refused hospitalization due to hospital congestion.
— On October 16, we will have another 15 concentrators for home use. The rest of the funds will be used to pay for those concentrators that will be completed at the end of October, - said the head of the Monster Corporation, Ekaterina Nozhevnikova.
She was one of the first to draw the attention of the public and mass media to the problem of lack of places in medical institutions. Only after it was supported by ordinary Odessans did the authorities begin to react in any way. However, this does not make it any easier for the doctors themselves - mass layoffs, nervous breakdowns, and, again, the same danger of infection with COVID-19 are added to delays in additional payments.
Currently, the emergency line 103 in Odessa and the region receives about three thousand calls per day. About a thousand of them require the help of a consultant doctor, the rest are handed over to emergency medical teams. About forty calls per day concern suspicions directly of coronavirus infection, about 150 are pneumonia of various origins, and about 50 are patients with ARVI symptoms. In total, emergency medical teams go to approximately 250 addresses per day where there may be people infected with COVID-19, Svetlana Malonoga, head of the unified emergency medical dispatch service of the Odesa region, told our fellow journalists.
Doctors, like people, are asking for help, while those in power urge not to panic. According to officials, queues are forming near infectious wards, since it takes at least three to five minutes to receive a patient with the coronavirus. There is a similar situation in other countries of the world, said the head of the parliamentary committee on national health and people's deputy of the Servant of the People faction, Mikhail Radutsky.
— As for queues. Ambulances stand in lines in Israel and Italy. Because when the ambulance arrives, it takes no less than three to five minutes to hand over the patient. This is if the patient is in a normal state or there is already an established diagnosis, he explained.
However, who will take responsibility for the life of Ukrainians - they cannot answer in the parliament.
We note that as of October 13, 2020, 17 cases of COVID-045 were registered in the Odesa region. Of them, 19 people are residents of Odessa. In Odessa itself, 7389 people died, 114 recovered.
Iryna Kystruga
