By the sea, the beautiful sea. Triage is still outside and the weather has been very windy and cold. Wearing 4 layers and my down jacket and still chilled to the bone. I came back to the house and the team was sitting around in blankets and using hot water bottles – except for Lily who, as an Alaskan, is never cold. Thinking about these refugees in summer tents with limited blankets and some without jackets or layers having to spend the nights shivering in their tents. Just inhumane.
These refugees, especially those from the tropical climates, suffer greatly.
I had a young boy, maybe 19, from the Congo just shivering uncontrollably from the cold. He had a thick sweatshirt but it was not enough. Influenza / cold season is quickly approaching. Tama and Cathy made up our cold comfort packs we will give out. They include tissues, chapstick, emergency C packets, 5 cough drops, a ginger tea bag. A token remedy for the misery of a cold. It is all we have. They will have to come to triage for Tylenol as there is the need to differentiate the common cold from covid.
Today there is a new criteria for covid testing: a list of 10 symptoms and we are asked to send a patient for covid testing if they have even one symptom. That is just about everyone. Two of my patients ran away because they were afraid to be isolated. Those tested were negative. Many with positive tests are asymptomatic. Dr. Mena, the Greek chronic care doctor we work with in the evening, said there were 12 people from the Island in the hospital.
