防護服の使い回しも…疲弊する医師ら、新型コロナウイルスとの闘い　中国

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】新型コロナウイルスとの闘いの最前線に立つ中国の医師らが疲弊している。毎日増え続ける患者の治療に当たる中、マスクや防護服など防護装備は著しく不足しており、自らも感染する危険に常にさらされている。（写真は中国武漢の病院で、ゴーグルを身に着ける医師）
　新型コロナウイルスの発生地で流行の中心地である武漢では１週間に数千人単位で新たな患者が増えており、医療従事者は人員が不足し疲れ果てている。
　医師の多くは、適切なマスクや防護服を着用せずに患者の治療に当たらなければならない状況だ。防護服やマスクは定期的に取り換えなければならないが、同じものを使い回さざるを得ない事態も起きている。
　武漢市内のクリニックで働くある医師は、自分と少なくとも１６人の同僚の医師が、肺感染症やせきなど新型コロナウイルスに似た症状を示していると明かした。「医師として、自分が感染源になっている状態で働きたくはない」。この医師は報復を恐れ、匿名で取材に応じた。
　だが、発熱していない医療従事者は全員働くことになっており、しかも「今のところ、私たちの代わりはいない」と話す。「最前線で働く人がいなくなったらどうなるのだろう」
　医療従事者が直面している危険性の深刻さは、重症急性呼吸器症候群（ＳＡＲＳ）に似た新型コロナウイルスについて最初に警鐘を鳴らした李文亮医師が、今月７日に死亡したことで浮き彫りになった。
　武漢の副市長は７日、市内では毎日、Ｎ９５マスク５万６０００枚、防護服４万１０００着が不足していると述べた。
　医療従事者は防護服を脱がなくて済むように「おむつをはき、水分の摂取を減らし、トイレに行く回数も減らしている」と、中国国家衛生健康委員会の幹部、焦雅輝氏は指摘する。
　隔離病棟では防護服は４時間以内に着替えることになっているが、同じ服を６～９時間も着用し続ける医療従事者も中にはいると焦氏は先週明かした。「もちろん、そのような方法は推奨しないが、医療従事者には他の選択肢が全く残されていない」

■「何もしないよりまし」
　中国政府は、国の総力を挙げてマスクと防護服を増産すると表明している。また１月２４日以降、マスク３億枚以上と防護服約３９０万着を輸入している。
　医師らは新型ウイルスの防護に不適切な間に合わせの防護服を着用せざるを得ない状況だと、米国在住の３４歳の中国人女性は話す。この女性は武漢の病院で働く元同級生らに防護装備５０００ドル（約５５万円）分を寄付した。
　女性の友人の一人は、同じ防護服を５日連続で着ていたという。「友人は毎日、使用後に殺菌していた」「無意味かもしれないが、何もしないよりはましだと言っていた」
　武漢の大病院で働くある女性医師は、当局からメディア対応を禁じられているため匿名で取材に応じ、医療従事者は「疲弊している」と語った。例えばクリニックで働く同僚の一人は、８時間で４００人の患者を診察しなければならなかった。医師の多くは「あっという間に死んでしまって、命を守ることができない」患者たちを相手にしている。
　「医師は多くのプレッシャーにさらされている」と話すこの医師の働く病院では、医師らの精神状態を見守るようになっているという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/02/14-09:24）

Doctors on the frontline of China's new coronavirus epidemic are facing a daunting task: treat an ever-growing number of infected patients and risk getting infected themselves due to a drastic shortage of masks and other protective equipment.
Tired and understaffed, medical workers have had to deal with thousands of new cases per week in Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the outbreak that first emerged late last year.
Many doctors have had to see patients without proper masks or protective body suits, resorting to reusing the same equipment when they should be changed regularly.
Some have even worn diapers to avoid having to take off the equipment and make it last longer, according to a health official.
One doctor at a community clinic in Wuhan said he and at least 16 other colleagues were showing symptoms similar to the new virus, including lung infections and coughing.
As doctors, we do not want to work while being a source of infection, he told AFP, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.
But right now, there is no one to replace you, the doctor explained, adding that all medical staff without a fever are expected to work.
What would happen if there was no one working on the frontline?
Some 44 percent of the 42,600 cases nationwide -- and the majority of more than 1,100 deaths -- have been in Wuhan, home to a wild animal market where the virus is suspected of having originated before spreading between humans.
The risks medical staff are facing was highlighted on Friday after Li Wenliang, a whistleblowing doctor in Wuhan, succumbed to the disease more than a month after he first raised alarm about a new SARS-like virus in the city.
His death unleashed an outpouring of grief and anger on Chinese social media, with 10 academics in Wuhan circulating an open letter calling for political reform and freedom of speech.
- Mask deficit -
The deputy mayor of Wuhan said on Friday the city faced a daily shortage of 56,000 N95 masks and 41,000 protective suits.
Medical staff in protective suits will wear diapers, reduce how much water they drink, and reduce how many times they use the bathroom, said Jiao Yahui, a top official at China's National Health Commission.
Some of them will wear the same protective suit for six or even nine hours, when they should not be worn for more than four hours in a quarantined ward, she said last week.
Of course, we don't advocate this method, but medical staff really have no alternative, she admitted.
The Chinese government has responded by mobilising the entire country to increase production of masks and suits.
As of Monday, three-quarters of mask and suit producers had resumed work following an extended Lunar New Year holiday, said Cong Liang, an official at China's top economic planner.
China has also imported more than 300 million masks and about 3.9 million articles of protective clothing since January 24, an official said last week.
The Red Cross Society of China too has received over 900 million yuan ($129 million) in donations for epidemic relief -- though it has drawn scrutiny for its lack of transparency and efficiency.
Even if we receive more masks, the number of patients increases even faster, said a doctor at a major Wuhan hospital, who requested anonymity because she was not authorised to speak with media.
Each doctor or nurse uses two to four masks each day, she explained.
The consumption of masks in the hospital is enormous, she emphasised. They have a permanent lack of masks.
Doctors have also been forced to don makeshift hazmat suits, which are not adequate protection against the virus, said Xu Yuan, a 34-year-old in the US who donated $5,000 in protective equipment to former classmates working at Wuhan hospitals.
As soon as he put it on, (the suit) cracked because it was too small for him, she said, describing a friend in Wuhan -- who was also forced to wear the same hazmat suit for five days.
Everyday, he disinfects it after use, she told AFP.
He said it may have been useless, but it is still better than nothing.
- Calls for help -
Handling the daily deluge of new cases takes another kind of toll too, said the doctor at the large hospital in Wuhan, whose colleagues are handling confirmed cases of virus patients.
They are exhausted, she told AFP. One of her colleagues, for instance, works at a clinic that receives 400 patients within eight hours.
Many are dealing with patients who die very quickly, whom they have not managed to save, she said.
They have a lot of pressure, the doctor said, adding that her hospital had set up psychological monitoring.
Many Wuhan residents are worried, too, said the doctor at the community clinic.
He and his colleagues receive calls from distressed community members, he said -- some of whom are too afraid to leave their homes.
You can hear their calls for help, but your hands are tied, the doctor said, describing families where patients are stuck at home without medical treatment. There's nothing we can do.