Coronavirus Outbreak in Italy: SIAARTI Guidelines Say Those Too Old or With Low Chances of Recovery 'Must be Left to Die', Cites Crunch in Medical Resources
Italy has seen an exponential rise in the number of coronavirus cases. The number of COVID-19 positive cases reported on February 27 were 322, followed by 2,502 on March 4 and 10,149 cases by March 11. The death toll has crossed the 1,000-mark, driving the nation into a state of panic.
New Delhi, March 13: The set of guidelines released by the Italian College of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI) recommended doctors in the coronavirus-hit nation to not to exhaust their resources on patients who are "too old" or have low chances of recovery. The guidelines, though sounding immoral, have been defended by the medical body by citing the crunch in resources. Coronavirus: WHO Praises Italy's 'Genuine Sacrifices' for Taking Initiative Measures to Control COVID-19 Spread.
According to SIAARTI, the doctors in Italy would be committing a gross injustice if they adhere to the "first come, first serve" policy. If resources would be used for the treatment of those with miniscule chances of recovery or on those who have less "life years" left even if they survive, then a young and comparatively healthy patient would be subjected to injustice, the guidelines argue.
"In case of a total saturation of resources, maintaining the criterion of ‘first come, first served’ would amount to a decision to exclude late-arriving patients from access to intensive care," the SIAARTI report was quoted as saying by The Atlantic.
Italy has seen an exponential rise in the number of coronavirus cases. The number of COVID-19 positive cases reported on February 27 were 322, followed by 2,502 on March 4 and 10,149 cases by March 11. The death toll has crossed the 1,000-mark, driving the nation into a state of panic.
Italy is the worst-hit by novel coronavirus after China, which was the epicentre of COVID-19. The latter, however, is recording a sharp decrease in detection of new cases. The number of fatalities have also dropped in Hubei province, where the first case of coronavirus was reported in mid-December. Worldwide, the total number of infected patients has crossed the 1,00,000-mark, whereas, the number of fatalities has jumped to over 4,400.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2020 07:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).