We may be days away from this nightmare.

[FightingIrish]

I just read this tweet and the Italian document that it references. Italian medical professionals are facing a situation where they will have to deny intensive care to patients over a specified age. Their medical resources and caregivers are already being taxed to the breaking point.

The document discusses a protocol where healthcare providers will not have to choose who lives or dies. The decision will already have been made. We may be just days from dealing with the same medical ethics issue here. I have no doubt that Trump is aware of this. Why else would he classify deliberations on COVID-19?

I have dear friends in northern Italy. I’m not sure they’re even aware of how COVID-19 patients may be triaged. Almost all of my friends are in the “Do Not Intubate” demographic. I’m afraid I’ll soon be saying goodbye to them when we talk on WhatsApp. I’m heartbroken.

Link to tweet

?s=21

[beachbumbob]

1. we will see here to if this thing goes as wild as it has in Italy, make no mistake

[shanti]

2. Something else concerning about

the cases from Northern Italy is the sick men who just returned to SoCal/Calabasas from their ski trip. They are relatively young (40's?), but very ill and 4 are in ICU. Is this strain from Italy particularly virulent and deadly? The virus is clearly mutating.

[malaise]

3. As long as ReTHUG leadership over a certain age are the first persons to be denied

intensive care

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. There are some significant differences between Italy's situation and ours.

Italy has the oldest population in the world; the average age of the people who have died of the virus is 81, which might explain its particularly high mortality rate. Air pollution, which impairs lung function, is a serious problem in parts of northern Italy. Italy has universal health care but it has been underfunded for years and there was already a shortage of doctors, nurses and hospital beds.
https://time.com/5799586/italy-coronavirus-outbreak/

That's not to say it won't get bad here, but our conditions aren't exactly the same. What we do have that's worse are a completely incompetent president and a hamstrung federal government.