With more than 22,100 confirmed cases of coronavirus infecting people across the UK and more than 9,000 people in hospitals in England, the coronavirus pandemic has brought to light the utter importance of healthcare workers.
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While hundreds of thousands of people have offered their time during this crisis and are signing up as volunteers to help the NHS, one familiar face is on the front lines trying to beat this pandemic head-on. Former Love Island star Dr Alex George is an accident and emergency room doctor who is currently helping patients infected with COVID-19.
The ex-islander has put his fame to good use by taking to his Instagram account since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. Dr Alex has given his 1.3 million Instagram followers a unique perspective and shows what it is like working in the emergency department amid the coronavirus outbreak.
With the death toll up to 1408, Alex, 29, was left emotionally drained by what he saw in his London hospital:
Yesterday's shift was a particularly busy one. We had quite a few patients who were really quite unwell from coronavirus. Unfortunately, a few deaths as well which is always tough. We're seeing the department is getting more and more cases of coronavirus and we're expecting that to continue over the next few weeks. I think the peak is still to come.
We saw a huge number of cases, particularly very unwell cases. What shocks us sometimes is that of course, we're seeing a very skewed part of the population. We're seeing a small percentage very unwell, 90 per cent are recovering in their own homes. But we are seeing young people who are very unwell with it and that can be very challenging. We're only human.
There are young patients, who don't have underlying conditions. It's very upsetting for the patient and for us as well. Of course, I would say that is a rarity, most people who are fit and well will recover from mild to moderate symptoms, but there is no guarantee of that.
The young medic was moved earlier this week by one fan's kind gesture thanking NHS staff for their ongoing work:
Across the country, hundreds of people in self-isolation gathered on their balconies to pay tribute to doctors and nurses saving lives and risking their own on the frontlines of the battle against the coronavirus.
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