Kylie Rancor
As we finish out the year and the spree of holidays celebrated through November and December in the United States comes to an end, we’re gearing up for a continued surge in COVID cases. Too many people have refused to listen to safety guidelines, choosing instead to travel or host large gatherings, and we’ve already seen a marked increase in new infections as a result.
And that means hospitals are once again running out of capabilities to treat sick patients that come to them for help. There’s a fear of care rationing and long waits for a bed in some areas that are getting particularly slammed by the virus.
One ICU nurse in Los Angeles posted a video to TikTok pleading with people to stay home as we try to at least get the numbers down to something hospitals can manage.
“I don’t know how else to say this, but I am begging you guys, please stop being careless,” Gayana Chuklansev asked her followers. “We have no ventilators. We have no sedating medications. Patients are dying like flies.”
Los Angeles County alone has passed 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, while California accounts for 2.28 million of the U.S.’s 19.8 million COVID infections. Both state and county have seen a severe uptick in cases following Thanksgiving.
“We’re full. We’re at max capacity. We have no resources, we have no staff. Our doctors can’t even intubate because they have, like, forty patients each. It’s like a war zone,” Chuklansev continued. “And we’re asking for help and help’s not coming.”
She also pointed out that people have constantly told nurses throughout this pandemic that it’s what they “signed up” for, insinuating that they should stop “complaining” about having to watch sick COVID patients struggle and die from a virus because Americans want to keep partying like nothing’s wrong.
“We didn’t sign up to watch patients die because we physically cannot help them,” she shot back. “So please, stop being careless. Please stay home during the holidays, because it’s only going to get worse.”
Chuklansev’s video was posted before Christmas, and obviously the people who made the choice to engage in social activities outside of their households for that holiday can’t undo them. But people can still choose to stay home for New Year’s Eve, and anyone who traveled or partied over Christmas can (and should) quarantine for 10-14 days to ensure they didn’t catch COVID-19, or to make sure they don’t spread it even further if they did.
With the vaccine rollout going much slower than anticipated, and so many still insisting they won’t get vaccinated at all, the latest projection for life getting back to normal in the U.S. is ten years from now. That’s something that can change under a number of factors, including if people just follow the guidelines and stay safe.