WALTON COUNTY, Ga. - Healthcare workers across the country are halting their lives to help work in coronavirus hotspots, like new York city and Louisiana.
Some liken the coronavirus pandemic to war, but Melissa Page, from Walton County, is running toward New York City's chaos Saturday, to help get it under control.
"They’re beaten down and they need help," Page said. "That’s something I can do. I want to go and help," she said.
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Nurse heading to New York
A the coronvirus outbreak in New York continues to worsen, a Georgia nurse is heading to provide some much needed relief
Preparations for the trip started just this week.
"Normally, when you’re traveling as a nurse you have a little more time," Page explained. "All of this has been arranged in probably the last four days," she said.
Having spent nearly 10 years as a medic and pediatric nurse, she’ll be stationed at Mount Sinai in Manhattan to help with the influx of COVID-19 patients.
Page says she’s cautiously optimistic.
"I have a husband, four children and grandson...Once this is over I want to come back home to them, so I’m gonna be as careful as I can be," Page said.
Page says she’s doing this to show Georgians what could happen here if we don’t properly practice social distancing.
"I want to show people what’s going on in New York and make them take it a little more seriously," she said.
All the while her friends and family are backing her like never before, by making masks and headbands for her ears, so they don't get sore from the protective gear.
"People are texting me saying 'hey, take this, take that to new York,' it’s an amazing feeling that makes you feel proud to be an American," she said.
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Know how the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting Georiga
Best prevention measures:
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least twenty seconds.
- If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
RESOURCES:
- Shelter-in-place order for Georgia until April 13
- Who is considered an 'essential worker' during the coronavirus pandemic?
- If you violate Georgia's shelter-in-place order, then you are breaking the law
- Reporting potential price gouging in the state of Georgia
- Reporting business, organization violating statewide shelter-in-place order
- How to get unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Fixing the PIN on the Georgia Department of Labor website to access unemployment claims
- Symptoms, testing and how to prepare amid growing COVID-19 outbreak
- Who is most susceptible to coronavirus? COVID-19 not just affecting older people
- Coronavirus cleaners: These products will kill COVID-19, according to the EPA
- Coronavirus and pets: Your cat or dog probably can’t get COVID-19, WHO says
- Will sick leave protect me if I get ill from coronavirus? 5 questions answered
RELATED: CoronavirusNOW.com, FOX launches national hub for COVID-19 news and updates.