Two Montreal nurses working at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing clinic in Laval, Que. are asking people to follow the rules and stay home — or they warn the pandemic will be prolonged.
“We get the sense that not all people are taking it seriously,” said Melissa Gentile-Menard, a nurse working at the drive-thru clinic.
Gentile-Menard says that while people wait for results, they are mandated to self-isolate.
“But some people are flat out refusing to” the nurse said.
“People need to take all measures, including washing your hands frequently and coughing into your shoulder more seriously. It’s the only way we can make headway.”
Gentile-Menard works along with fellow friend and nurse Tara L.P.
Tara, who wants her last name to be kept private, wrote a post on a Facebook group where mother’s share experiences and concerns.
In her post, she painted a picture of what her 12-hour day working in the test clinic looked like.
“They leave and the next car rolls up. This goes on for 12 hours straight. There are no times where there are no cars in the line up.”
The day wraps up at 8 p.m., at which point Tara says she drives home and showers immediately.
“I can’t even hug my baby when I get home,” she says.
She immediately starts the laundry for the clothes she wore during her shift on the hottest cycle possible.
“My feet are still frozen… and yet I will go out and do it all again tomorrow, to maybe make a bit of a difference,” she explained.
Tara says patients she sees are scared and some try to protect themselves by covering their face with bandanas or improvised masks made from paper towel and elastics.
“I had a mom who was crying, she was sick and was really worried about her baby,” the nurse said.
“We try to reassure them,” Tara explained, while adding health care workers are only allocated four minutes with each patient.
Despite the tough conditions, Tara and Gentile-Menard say they are thankful for the opportunity to help.
“One of the guys passed and did a magic trick for us to brighten the day.”
“We went into this profession because we want to help. We are hardwired that way,” Gentile-Menard said.
While Tara says her team is provided with all the necessary gear and she feels safe working at the testing site, she still worries for herself and her family.
“I just want to be able to come home to see my daughter. I’m immunocompromised myself and I want to make sure my nine-year-old still has a mom by the end of August.”
“We always have our family in the back of our mind,” Gentile-Menard said. “We try to explain to our kids that we are taking all precautions.”
Tara says she saw too many people asking on Facebook if it was OK for their children or teens to have a playdate and by writing her post, she wanted people to know the reality of COVID-19.
“I want people to know that it doesn’t discriminate — it could pick your house, it might not. You don’t know who is sick at that other house and before you know it, it’s this one huge tree,” Tara told Global News.
“Take this seriously because what if it’s your kid who gets sick? What if your kid dies because they had to have a playdate? It’s not worth it. We can all wait.”
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