The coronavirus has taken over the world right now. Be it a popular Bollywood singer, or a common man, you never know who is going to be the next victim of this deadly virus.
According to The Guardian, a retired 68-year-old doctor in France became the first medic to succumb to COVID-19. Jean-Jacques Razafindranazy, an A&E doctor in Compiègne breathed his last on Saturday at Lille university hospital while treating the infected patients.
Although the retired doctor had an option to stay at home, he kept coming to work in order to help his overworked colleagues. His family shared the news of his death on social media and called him a hero. His son said:
“He sacrificed himself. He wanted to help. He kept working because he loved it, it was his life. It’s not fair. We are sad and angry.”
He added, “He came back from a shift exhausted and became ill very quickly,” he added.
Speaking about the doctor’s death, France’s health minister, Olivier Véran said, “I would like to emphasise the extraordinary courage of all the doctors, the nurses, the first responders, of everyone who is allowing us to save lives every single day,” reported Independent.
The mayor of Compiègne, where Jean worked in an emergency ward in the Oise département said:
“The town had lost a fine doctor, a man both respected and much liked by his team.”
France’s first coronavirus cluster was also recorded in Compiègne. Although it’s unclear how Jean got infected with the virus, sources said that he had seen patients at a very beginning of the outbreak when precautions were not as strict.
Speaking on how serious the issue is, Jean’s colleague on the Compiègne emergency ward said:
“This is a really serious situation. We did not ask to die. We accept our responsibilities, of course, but the public does not yet realise how serious the situation is.”
Earlier, an Italian doctor died after he contracted coronavirus due to lack of gloves. The frontline staff and healthcare workers are doing more than what they can to save our lives. That’s the reason why people were requested to applaud the medics from their houses during the ‘Janata Curfew’ in India yesterday. However, most of us forgot the purpose of the curfew and gathered on the streets in large number, risking the spread of the virus.
It is advisable that people stay at home unless an emergency. While the medics risk their lives saving us, we can at least stay at home, right?