MMK: COUNTERING THE PANDEMIC
Assistance to emergency services
Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) gave ten thousand medical masks, one thousand respirators, five hundred disposable protective overalls and three hundred pairs of closed glasses/face covering as a gift to those who are at the forefront of the fight against coronavirus. The supplies have filled an entire warehouse of the ambulance station located on 18 Korobov street.
Chief Paramedic of the Magnitogorsk Ambulance Station Svetlana Grishina breathes a sigh of relief, now her doctors have been provided with everything necessary. She notes that it was all very difficult to start with.
Every day, more than 30 ambulance teams went out to fight the virus in Magnitogorsk: two paramedics or a doctor with a paramedic and a driver. Back in late February, when information about the coronavirus came from China, it was somehow hard to believe that the treacherous virus would come to Russia. But it arrived and there was no personal protective equipment. Of course, medical organisations, including ambulance services, regularly order everything they need with their budget funding. But the order is regulated by Federal law, which strictly regulates auctions. From the moment of ordering to receiving personal protective equipment, the time frame can be up to a month or even a month and a half. And the protective kits were needed here and now.
"At first, we managed on their own, using the remains in warehouses," says Svetlana Grishina, "Then surgical suits were used which were purchased for home delivery. When we realised that soon there would be nothing to work in, we turned to charity for help.
“The plant was one of the first to respond, purchasing the most generous set of personal protective equipment for doctors.
"Every day we need 700 masks, because we have to serve 350-400 calls a day. You're supposed to change them every two or three hours, but we have a rule of disposing of the masks after each call. We use the same number of gloves. The respirators are very helpful, which are considered more reliable as a protective tool and you can also use them for longer. We dispose of 70 to 100 suits per day, because even a call for a cough and temperature is considered a potential "coronavirus" case, which means that you have to go in full protective gear, and the suit is also immediately processed and disposed of.
Many thanks to MMK and personally to Viktor Rashnikov for the invaluable help they have provided to the city and its doctors in the current pandemic. Your support is extremely palpable, your contribution is invaluable, and your position should be an example for many.
