(Ha'aretz) Roy Arad - Ida Katan, 67, is a senior radiographer at Sharon Hospital in Petah Tikva. Hers is quite a hazardous job because she must enter sickrooms and touch patients in order to do x-rays and other types of scans. Katan was supposed to have retired in February, after 44 years on the job, but she opted to stay on. "I extended my contract, because there aren't enough radiographers - it's a field where there's a shortage of personnel," she explained. "And I'm glad I did, because I have the great privilege of working at this particular time." "My family is definitely afraid....But I have to help, like everyone else here. I am deputy chief radiographer, and I've asked members of our staff who never do night shifts - mothers of small children, some with risk factors - to work longer shifts. They all agreed." Natasha Blausov, 50, is director of quality control in a microbiology laboratory at Sheba Medical Center, where she has worked for 22 years. She says, "The lab is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Everyone has been mobilized, not just the permanent staff but students and volunteers, too....There's plenty of work, but we are pleased and feel we have a mission." Q: Are you afraid of being infected? Blausov: "None of our workers are sick. I feel safer in the coronavirus labs than at home. I'm protected by two robes, two pairs of gloves, an N-95 face mask, a face shield and something that protects my head. I look like an astronaut. Plus the room is ventilated, and I open the test tubes under a special hood."
2020-04-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive