{"id":24933,"date":"2020-03-31T11:43:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T09:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/?p=24933"},"modified":"2022-11-28T21:57:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T20:57:38","slug":"fight-on-the-frontline-supporting-our-medical-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/en\/2020\/03\/fight-on-the-frontline-supporting-our-medical-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight on the frontline: supporting our medical staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Night falls differently during lockdown. There is a stillness. A silence that lies across Europe, extending both East of its borders and over the Atlantic, as a third of the global population is confined to their homes. The usual night-time haunts are empty, the hum of traffic, night shift workers and partygoers non-existent.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Yet, each night, the quiet is briefly no more. As people gather on their doorsteps and balconies, lean out of windows and stairwells, their cheers and applause echo across a nation and we are united in gratitude. We celebrate those who too often do not receive the praise they deserve, the people who are fighting on the frontlines of a different war, one which no one expected. Our healthcare workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The nightly applause for medical staff began in Italy, the country considered the epicentre of the European COVID\u201319 outbreak. Spain, France, and the UK followed suit. Such widespread gestures of thanks raise the question: how else are we supporting the life-saving efforts made by medical staff?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Supporting our health services<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

While governments grapple to source personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and, more simply, hospital beds, staff care networks are not currently a priority. Yet medical staff are not left without help – it is clear that current support overwhelmingly stems from the community. Individual action alongside help from businesses aims to alleviate the unavoidable pressure put on them during a health crisis. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Monaco, there have been many proud displays of recognition. Every night at 7 pm citizens sing<\/a> the national anthem<\/span> to acknowledge the efforts of healthcare workers, as well as emphasise the much-needed unity the pandemic has borne. Supermarkets are\u00a0dedicating<\/a> the first opening hour each day to staff at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre, an action mirrored across many countries in lockdown. Along the coast, Nice is providing free taxi rides to all healthcare workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, France’s main rail network SNCF announced<\/a> that medical staff and personal carers would be able to travel for free. Some French regions, such as Grand Est, have also made local transport services free. <\/span>Airbnb has made <\/span>20,000 rooms<\/span><\/a> free for health workers to stay, amongst other groups vulnerable to the virus. This intends to reduce commuting hours and their chance of spreading the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n