In the worst-hit cities in America, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, and other medical professionals have been working past the point of exhaustion, risking their health and lives to test and treat those infected with COVID-19.1
Here and elsewhere, doctors have even risked government censure in their efforts to track and extinguish the virus. Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who first warned colleagues about a new SARS-like virus, was summoned by police in Wuhan and forced to confess his “crime” of spreading “rumors” about the virus online.2 Seattle-based infectious disease expert Helen Chu defied state and federal officials by repurposing her ongoing flu-tracking study to track the spread of COVID-19.3
Dauntless medical professionals such as these—taking life-promoting actions amid such risks—are heroes. And, fortunately, they are not the only ones working tirelessly to produce life-enhancing values in the face of the pandemic and the destructive government responses to it. . . .
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Endnotes
1. Dhruv Khullar, “‘Adrenaline, Duty, and Fear’: Inside a New York Hospital Taking on the Coronavirus,” New Yorker, April 3, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/new-yorks-hospitals-take-on-the-coronavirus.
2. Michael Bociurkiw, “China’s Hero Doctor Was Punished for Telling Truth About Coronavirus”, CNN, February 11, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/08/opinions/coronavirus-bociurkiw/index.html.
3. Sheri Find and Mike Baker, “‘It’s Just Everywhere Already’: How Delays in Testing Set Back the U.S. Coronavirus Response,” New York Times, March 10, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/coronavirus-testing-delays.html.
4. Mike Wall, “Elon Musk Says He’ll Have 1,200 Ventilators Ready to Deliver This Week,” Space.com, March 24, 2020, https://www.space.com/elon-musk-spacex-tesla-ventilators-coronavirus.html.
5. Victoria McGrane, “Manufacturing a Coronavirus Defense: Companies Like L.L. Bean Transition to Medical Gear Production,” Boston Globe, April 1, 2020, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/01/nation/manufacturing-coronavirus-defense-companies-transition-medical-gear-production.
6. Amy Graff, “How a San Francisco Restaurant Reinvented Itself to Survive in the Age of COVID-19,” SFGATE, March 30, 2020, https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Prairie-restaurant-general-store-San-Francisco-15163737.php.
7. Noelle Bellow, “Restaurant Converts to General Store in San Francisco During Coronavirus Pandemic,” KRON 4, March 18, 2020, https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/restaurant-converts-to-general-store-in-san-francisco-during-coronavirus-pandemic/.
8. Kate Taylor, “Chains Like Subway and Panera Are Selling Groceries, Including Loaves of Bread, Milk, and Even Toilet Paper, As Grocery Stores Struggle with Shortages and Long Wait Times,” Business Insider, April 8, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-subway-panera-and-other-chains-roll-out-grocery-2020-4.
9. Madison Neal, “Black Bear Brewing Company Making Hand Sanitizer to Fight Pandemic,” WHNT 19 News, April 8, 2020, https://whnt.com/community/bright-spot/black-bear-brewing-company-making-hand-sanitizer-to-fight-pandemic/.
10. Madison Neal, “Brewing Company Making Hand Sanitizer.”
11. Anna Huntsman, “Amish Country Businesses Scaling Production to Make Medical Protective Gear,” ideastream, March 27, 2020, https://www.ideastream.org/news/amish-country-businesses-scaling-production-to-make-medical-protective-gear.
