Italian nurse with coronavirus commits suicide fearing to infect others

According to the federation, this is not an isolated incident, with a similar case occurring last week in Venice for the same reason.

By AARON REICH
Medical staff wearing protective masks, glasses and suits treat a patient suffering from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in an intensive care unit at the Oglio Po hospital in Cremona, Italy March 19, 2020 (photo credit: REUTERS/FLAVIO LO SCALZO)
Medical staff wearing protective masks, glasses and suits treat a patient suffering from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in an intensive care unit at the Oglio Po hospital in Cremona, Italy March 19, 2020
(photo credit: REUTERS/FLAVIO LO SCALZO)
After being diagnosed with the coronavirus, 34-year-old Italian nurse Daniela Trezzi committed suicide, worried she had infected others, the Daily Mail reported, citing The National Federation of Nurses of Italy.
Trezzi was working in the intensive care ward at the San Gerado hospital in the town of Monza in Lombardy, a region of northern Italy that has been hit the hardest by the outbreak.
In a statement, the federation said Trezzi was under "heavy stress," fearing that she was spreading the virus while trying to help stop the crisis, the Daily Mail reported.
"Each of us has chosen this profession for good and, unfortunately, also for bad: we are nurses," the federation's statement said.
"The condition and stress to which our professionals are subjected is under the eyes of all." 
According to the hospital's general-manager Mario Alparone, Trezzi had been at home sick since March 10, and "was not under surveillance."
Local media reported that judicial authorities have launched an investigation into Trezzi's death.
The federation said that this is not an isolated incident, with a similar case occurring last week in Venice for the same reason.
According to the Daily Mail citing an Italian research institute, around 5,760 healthcare workers in the country have been diagnosed with COVID-19, which is approximately 8% of all total cases in Italy.
Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that the government was working on obtaining more protective equipment, adding that there was maximum attention on helping out Lombardy.

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"Our priority is to keep doctors, nurses and all our health personnel safe," Conte said.
The coronavirus outbreak has stretched the capabilities of the hospitals in Lombardy to their limit, with supplies running thin as the number of cases continues to rise.
Reuters contributed to this report.


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