QUARANTINE - DAY 30 - 4th April 2020 We have decided to continue the diary beyond the 30 days. As quarantine has been extended in Bethlehem and is being extended across the world so too shall the diary - in a vague indefinite sort of way! It feels that as long as there are still people who would like to contribute we shall continue...especially as we enter Easter week. Melissa Scott A nurse with two sons of 8 and 5 years old, speaks about her daily life working in a clinic in Bethlehem: I am a nurse working in the paediatric vaccination clinic. I work there every day in the morning and I am tense and scared that every day I might bring home the coronavirus with me, but it doesn't matter because my main concern is that children in Bethlehem are vaccinated and that is more important than my fears. With these vaccinations we are strengthening their immune systems. In the morning when I leave in my car wearing gloves, a face mask and a fully protective suit, my darling son, Saleh, calls out from the balcony "I love you Mama, don't be long, take care of yourself" Despite all the security barriers in the roads, and we are grateful for them, we are able to pass without any questions because when they see I am wearing medical clothes in my car they let me through. I collect my colleague and take her with me to the clinic, she is also a nurse. She has one child who she brings with her and who sits in the back seat wearing a face mask and gloves. When we arrive at the clinic we start bleaching everything around us, then we put on our white coats and start receiving the patients. I talk with the mothers and children, but when they see me wearing the mask they start crying so I take off the mask and this makes me worried because I am exposed. I talk with the mothers and I give them important instructions. I do this for a period of 6 hours. Working, worrying, cleaning, treating each child, and when my colleague wants something from me, we text each other because we don’t want to be in physical contact. We stopped drinking our morning coffee together or eating chocolate as we used to. We finish our work and we go out and we spray ourselves with alcohol before leaving the clinic ... and it's like this every day ... when i reach home, my son starts spraying me with alcohol from top to bottom, then i take off my clothes and wash myself ... to get a safe hug from my sons .... I forget all the fatigue because I protect my country's children with vaccinations. The sword protects... https://www.bethlehem-town.com/ Photo courtesy of Majd Abusrour |