Healthcare Workers Are Pleading For People To Self-Isolate For Their Sake With #StayHome
"We also have family but we can't stay home... be responsible and STAY HOME because I can't."
As the number of COVID-19 coronavirus continue to grow, one of the best courses of action is self-isolation to slow the spread of the virus.
With over 215,000 cases globally, every country has employed different methods to try and control the spreading disease. Countries like Italy have found success in total law-enforced lockdowns, while other places have simply recommended self-isolation.
Among these countries is Australia, who has limited the number of people allowed at public gatherings and has enforced self-isolation for returning international travellers.
While self-isolation for those who have not recently travelled is personal choice, as a preventative measure most people have decided to practice social distancing as well. To limit the contact with people who may be infected with COVID-19, many have opted to work from home and avoid public spaces entirely by self-isolating.
And this is something that nurses and doctors have recommended people do through the #StayHome campaign. Yesterday Dr. Gee Teak Sheng from Pantai Hospital In Penang, Malaysia uploaded a photo with his staff to Facebook.
The photo, which featured the doctor holding a sheet of paper that read “I stay at home for you. You stay at home for us. #StayHome #DudukRumah,” was shared over 66,000 times on the platform.
In Malaysia, a Movement Control Order was put in place in response to coronavirus, which prohibits anyone from going outside unless for essential reasons like work, to seek medical services or to buy food supplies.
One group of people exempt from this rule are doctors and nurses who have to care for the growing number of cases in the country. But as COVID-19 is spread from person-to-person through contaminated droplets or surfaces, staying home significantly reduces the risk of infection.
This reduced number of infections means that healthcare professionals have less cases to deal with. However, as people dismiss the advice of health authorities, the disease continues to spread throughout the community.
This was seen in the US, where despite the government advising citizens to avoid gatherings of 10 or more people, footage of a Florida beach absolutely flooded with people surfaced online. In the two days since the video emerged online, the number of coronavirus cases jumped from 192 to 328 — with hundreds of others still awaiting test results.
Clearwater Beach, Florida is PACKED today despite "social distancing" recommendations. https://t.co/WzGydcP1Ja pic.twitter.com/vsRD4QLbhr
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) March 16, 2020
But thankfully the Malaysian doctor’s message has caught the attention of people online just as much as the packed Florida beach has. Soon after Dr. Gee Teak Sheng started the #StayHome, countless other nurses and doctors rallied behind the idea.
Dr. Ahmed Rabea based in Egypt shared a photo of himself with a similar message which read: “I stayed at work for you. You stay at home for me.” And just like his colleague in Malyasia, Dr. Ahmed Rabea’s photo also went viral online.
A Reminder. pic.twitter.com/1bSyAw6Due
— Jimmy (@TheJimmyHopkin) March 18, 2020
Quickly health professionals around the world started to share their pleas for people to start social distancing for the greater good. In a popular TikTok video by two health workers dressed in scrubs, the message was explained a little more thoroughly.
Taking turns, the two workers flipped through papers which read: “We also have a family but can’t stay home. We are not on vacation. Be responsible, stay home because I can’t.”
“Wash your hands! We are exposed to everything for you. Help us! Take care of me, I’ll take care of you.”
My heart can't 😭
"We also have family but we can't stay home…Be responsible and STAY HOME because I can't"
…."HELP US"
Healthcare workers are literally risking it all to save us. Realize that.
They are humans not robots. Over worked, under staffed. 💔
STAY HOME! pic.twitter.com/M3iO2gRcl2
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) March 18, 2020
We stay at work for you.
You stay at home for us.Sama-sama kita membantu.#dudukrumah #StayHome #PerintahKawalanPergerakan #COVID19 @khairul_hafidz #MedTweetMY pic.twitter.com/uhUx3kUK7I
— Shazwan Sazali (@shazwan_sazali) March 18, 2020
Please stay at home. #StaySafeStayHome #StayHome #dudukrumah pic.twitter.com/Sa9QblyhHC
— KKMPutrajaya (@KKMPutrajaya) March 18, 2020
In another viral Facebook post, Ashley Barton, a nurse from Canada also spoke about the importance of staying home if you’re feeling unwell. Criticising those visiting loved ones in hospitals but not wanting to be screened at the entrance doors, Ashely simply said: “It’s not about you.”
“It’s about the mother of three undergoing chemotherapy on the Cancer Ward that has zero immune system,” she wrote. “It’s about the 30-week-old NICU baby that has already had to fight every single day of its life to stay alive… It’s about protecting them. Not about punishing you.”
“People in the hospital are already immunocompromised, one more virus — especially this particular one — could KILL them,” Ashely continued. “This is a matter of life and death. Stop being selfish and think of everyone else who is already fighting for their lives here.”
So, do your part. That nightclub, pub or party can wait until your health and COVID-19 is under control.
We owe a profound debt of gratitude to all our health professionals and everybody who’ll be on the front lines of this pandemic for a long while. They’re giving everything. May we all model our own behavior on their selflessness and sacrifice as we help each other through this. https://t.co/F3tsJTqd4c
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 17, 2020