McDonald's offers free drink for healthcare workers amid coronavirus outbreak
McDonald’s has offered free drinks for Australian healthcare workers bearing much of the brunt as the nation struggles deal with escalating coronavirus cases.
The fast-food outlet announced on Monday it would be offering a free small hot drink or a medium soft drink to “some of the most important people at this time”.
Healthcare workers can claim on the deal by either wearing their uniform when placing their order, or by presenting their employee identification card.
The offer will be available from Monday until April 17, and be limited to one free beverage per transaction.
Most were pleased at the announcement, however some accused the company of “scraping the bottom of the barrel” by offering a small coffee instead of a medium or large.
“I've heard of bare minimum but I've never seen the bottom of a barrel scrapped this thin,” one wrote in a reply.
“Wow. At least give them a ‘large anything they want’ once a day you bastards,” another said.
While some may have concerns healthcare workers could be at risk of either picking up or spreading the virus when collecting their free drink, Professor Marylouise McLaws, a germ and hygiene expert at UNSW, said this was highly unlikely.
“It’s very very rare. They certainly are on the front line and they are at risk, however they probably are at as much risk as the general public,” she told Yahoo News Australia.
“When they do care for somebody, they are in full PPE.”
Prof McLaws said so long as McDonald’s staff were being vigilant with their hand hygiene, any risk would be minimal.
“If the providers are taking care of their hand hygiene and have a heightened awareness, then it is unlikely there will be transmission of the virus,” she said.
Shortages of PPE in hospitals
It comes amid reports healthcare workers are experiencing widespread shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) including face masks and gloves.
The government last week called on companies with the capacity to produce the vital equipment to come forward and more than 130 companies responded.
There have been calls for the postponement of non-urgent elective surgeries to save on supplies and resources so workers can focus on battling the coronavirus pandemic.
A message from Italy to Australia. We seem to be no better resourced at the front-line now than Italy was five weeks ago. The numbers of test kits, PPE kits and beds by hospital, state and nation are being kept secret. Why? It would help to know. @abcnews https://t.co/PhvzlNm1BP
— Bill Bowtell AO (@billbowtell) March 23, 2020
Medical professionals have expressed concerns for more than a week that the system will not cope with the virus and ramping up of elective surgery at the same time. Some elective surgeries have reportedly been brought forward to beat the increasing demand for beds for coronavirus patients.
“The Australian Society of Anaesthetists continues to call for the postponement of non-urgent elective surgery to ensure anaesthetists have adequate time to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic in our hospitals,” ASA president Suzi Nou said in a statement.
The ASA has also raised concerns about the supply and adequacy of personal protective equipment in Australia and how "elective blitzes" in some states may impact supplies needed in the weeks and months to come.
Not concerned about stock levels
The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists is equally concerned about capacity.
Victoria and NSW have announced extra funding for elective surgery to get ahead before the coronavirus peak.
WA and the NT are delaying surgeries to cope with the coronavirus.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday the nation's capacity was under review.
"There's a national audit going on of all the critical care capacity," he said.
He assured the public there were intensive care unit beds, high-dependency beds, and equipment such as ventilators on order.
@GregHuntMP please send PPE to the frontline including primary care: where most of Australia receives most of its healthcare. Help us keep people out of hospital and help us from becoming patients ourselves #ppeisnotoptional #covid19aus #Stayhomeforus https://t.co/6q6MTkAxdO
— Alison Green (@agreen4060) March 21, 2020
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said a "war production unit" had been convened at the weekend to prepare Australia.
"We have four companies that have indicated that they are willing to make ventilators and will be seeking approvals which have been given at light speed," he told Nine News on Monday.
"At the same time, we are working on imports and procurements, large volumes of masks have arrived over the course of the weekend, additional volumes of testing kits."
Mr Hunt added in parliament on Monday that the goal is to double Australia's ICU capacity.
The prime minister also said that for now, few Australian coronavirus patients are in ICU care. NSW Health on Tuesday said 13 coronavirus patients were in ICU in that state.
With AAP
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