“A nightmare.

A nightmare.”

“Lombardy for sure is one of the most advanced regions

in Italy in terms of health care.”

“38-year-old with severe respiratory distress.

And immediately, in the next two, three hours

we see 10, 8, 9 patients exactly

with the same clinical presentation.”

“Every single square meter is occupied by beds,

every single aisle is filled up by beds.

And you can hardly recognize where you normally work.”

“The gastroenterology ward is not there anymore.

Internal medicine is not there.

Neurology has been replaced.

Doctors from other specialties have

been called to do shifts.”

“We had seven I.C.U. beds

and now we have 24.”

“As many as 5 to 10 percent of the severe cases and of deaths

are actually among the health care personnel.”

“We forget to eat,

we forget to drink,

and we keep on working.”

“I’m far away from my family since Feb. 19.”

“The worst is somebody dying in the isolated ward asking

for the wife, the husband for the last hours of their life

and having no chance to have anybody around

and dying on their own.”

“So the problem is that now we don’t have any intensive care

beds anymore.

We have to intubate, put on a helicopter

and transfer to another region, actually,

because in the region all the intensive cares are full.”

“Prepare more intensive care beds,

get more devices for mechanical ventilation.

Do the swab to everybody within the hospital

and be aware that somebody will not make it anyway.”

“We try to give our best to win not only the battle,

but win the war, finally.”