The COVID-19 pandemic – A daunting challenge for Health Care Workers

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a viral entity that is accountable to cause the pulmonary disorder known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19). The outbreak of COVID-19 has to turn out a global health catastrophe that has a long term consequences on human life. According to World Health Organization, 2020 recent reports, the number of cases increased by up to 291,825 per day to a total of more than 25 million cases by the end of August 2020.

Phua et al., 2020 demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic has created global challenges for health care systems and forced rapid increases in total hospital capacities, where intensive care units (ICUs) and ventilation capacities have been under particular pressure. The Lancet, 2020 described that this pandemic made us realized the importance of health care workers (HCWs) for handling the increased number of patients.

Hoehl et al., 2020 informed that the mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been considered through person to person contact by droplet infection. As a result, health care workers put their life at risk because they have many close person-to-person contacts with COVID-19 patients. Korth et al., 2020 explained the importance of strict hygiene protocols that are enforced in hospital in order to prevent patient to staff transmission. Canova et al., 2020 stated that “the high-risk work environment has led to a feeling of vulnerability for many HCWs”.

International Journal of Infectious Diseases issued a research paper written by Jonas Herzberg et al., 2020. The central idea of the study was to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus and specific antibodies among HCWs in a German hospital as a model system for the potential spread of the pandemic.

The results of this study determined a low prevalence of COVID-19 in health care workers, which may reflect the effectiveness of hygiene protocols. However, it could also indicate a low prevalence of SARS CoV-2 in hospital employees. This study also suggested that hygiene protocols and use of personal protective equipment such as surgical masks, N95 respirators, medical gloves, and gowns play a significant role in protecting the health care workers because they are obligated to follow these protocols.