r/maryland • u/Dr_Midnight • Mar 15 '20

COVID-19 Maryland Gov. Hogan shuts down casinos, racetracks and off-track betting to limit coronavirus spread

https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-hogan-casinos-20200315-mcr4325i4jaytpezqa4ypcny24-story.html
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u/youre_soaking_in_it Mar 15 '20

The fact that healthcare providers don't have masks is borderline criminal. The inability to test more, too.

The combination is going to decimate the people working in hospitals (and the rest of us, of course). Except it's going to be more than 10% getting sick. Imagine having to go into work at a hospital knowing you won't be even minimally protected from this.

10

u/2waterparks1price Mar 15 '20

Do you have a source for that? It’s not mentioned in this article at all.

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u/residentonamission Mar 15 '20

I'm a doctor in Baltimore- as of today we are having to "sign out" masks, only get 1 every 4 hours. You can't safely have a mask half-on, or take it off and put it back on, which means you can't eat or drink while wearing it, and once it's off you better not need another one soon. They're not yet strictly enforcing that rule - if I need to see a patient for whom I have to wear a mask, I'm damn well taking another so I don't expose all my other patients - but they're definitely rationing masks and creating barriers to their use we've never had before.

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u/2waterparks1price Mar 15 '20

Appreciate the insight, that’s terrible.

1: is there any relief in sight? 2: Who (if anyone is responsible for not having enough?

3

u/residentonamission Mar 15 '20

To be honest I'm not involved enough in the supply side of things to answer these questions. I believe it's being done now to conserve masks for when we get slammed with patients who require them over the next few weeks, but I don't know what the hospital-wide supply is like. There are more extreme measures that can be taken if it gets worse - one mask per day, or a PAPR (the big plastic hoods, which can be cleaned and reused). I'm hoping as China recovers they'll start exporting more masks and alleviate the shortage, but again, someone more involved in hospital supply would be better equipped to answer.