The Heart-to-Heart Project: Difference between revisions

As COVID-19 spread throughout the world, medical workers at the forefront of the pandemic experienced many hardships. Roughly six months after the World Health Organization [WHO] declared COVID-19 a [https://www.britannica.com/science/pandemic pandemic],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32191675/ |title=WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic |website=PubMed.gov |publisher=  |date=March 2020 |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote= }}</ref> one million deaths had already been confirmed (33.3 million confirmed cases).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/covid-19-deaths-global-killers-comparison/ |title=As the COVID-19 death toll passes 1 million, how does it compare to other major killers? |website=WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM|publisher= |date=September 29, 2020 |quote= }}</ref> Despite active prevention efforts from government officials, the virus has continued to spread over the past few years.<br>The medical workers put their efforts into examinations and treatments day and night, wearing protective clothing and equipment throughout the year despite the shortage of manpower and rest. In February 2021, more than 3,000 confirmed cases were reported in just fifteen days in Daegu, Korea. Accordingly, medical workers had to work without rest for more than 12 hours a day and each nurse had to take care of about 20 patients, which was twice the amount of their typical caseload. In New York, U.S., thousands of retired medical workers were reinstated and medical students graduated early and were sent into the field due to a shortage of manpower.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/coronavirus-news-march-2020/ |title=Coronavirus news – March 2020 |website=HARVARD T.H. CHAN, School of Public Health |publisher= |date=March 27, 2020 |quote= }}</ref> Field workers wore protective gear to prevent the spread of the virus while taking care of patients or taking samples. In Korea, they had to wear Level D protective clothing that covers them from head to toe, or four layers of coveralls, a face mask, gloves, and a face shield for six hours a day regardless of weather conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/emergency-response/personal-protective-equipment#:~:text=resistant%20outer%20boots.-,Level%20D%20protection,-is%20the%20minimum |title=Personal Protective Equipment |website=EPA  |publisher=|date= |quote= }}</ref><br>Amidst concerns over the emotional [https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases burnout] of medical workers,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200611007500315 |title=(Yonhap Feature) Medical workers exhausted by stifling protective suits as heat waves arrive |website=YONHAP NEWS AGENCY |publisher= |date=June 11, 2020 |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2021/04/15/the-pandemic-has-created-a-new-kind-of-burnout-which-makes-well-being-more-critical-than-ever/?sh=1ccbf4c32f01 |title=The Pandemic Has Created A New Kind Of Burnout, Which Makes Well-Being More Critical Than Ever |website=Forbes  |publisher=|date=April 15, 2021 |quote= }}</ref> ASEZ WAO launched the Heart-to-Heart Project to comfort and encourage those who are responding to the prolonged pandemic. The members from all over the world expressed their sincere respect, gratitude, and support to the medical workers who are dedicating themselves to citizens’ safety and helping to bring society back to normal.