Samaritan’s Purse Canada and our offices around the world continue to help alleviate suffering during the COVID-19 crisis. We have launched new efforts or adapted projects to support people who are suffering during this global pandemic.
Earlier in the year, Samaritan’s Purse deployed Emergency Field Hospitals to New York City and Italy in order to provide critical care for people seriously ill with COVID-19.
We operated our respiratory care unit in Central Park from April 1 to May 5. Through our partnership with the Mount Sinai Health System, we treated more than 300 coronavirus patients in New York, including 190 at the park site. More than 240 relief specialists served at various times on the Disaster Assistance Response Team there.
“This is what Samaritan’s Purse does—we respond in the middle of crises to help people in Jesus’ Name.”
We ran a similar medical facility outside of Milan, Italy, that opened on March 20 and closed May 7. The 14-tent unit was set up adjacent to the Cremona Hospital in order to treat an overflow of coronavirus patients. Our DC-8 aircraft made two airlifts to Italy in order to deliver the hospital, 20 tons of supplies, and a large Disaster Assistance Response Team.
All patients under Samaritan’s Purse care have now been discharged in both Italy and New York City, and we are in the process of decontaminating and packing up the tents. We are thankful that the surge in COVID-19 hospital admissions is finally reaching manageable levels.
As our disaster relief specialists served in Jesus’ Name in both locations, they brought comfort and the hope of Christ to hurting people. We saw patients recover from near physical death, and we also saw God bring salvation to some under our care.
Samaritan’s Purse teams, including doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel, worked on the frontlines in two of the worst affected areas in the world. Tens of thousands of cases have been reported across New York City’s five boroughs. As a nation, the United States has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, with more than 1.2 million. Sadly, the U.S. has the highest death toll of any country, at more than 75,000.
The city of Cremona, in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, was at the heart of the pandemic in Europe. The local hospital was forced to suspend all medical care, except for maternity and pediatrics, due to the overwhelming numbers of people suffering from this terrible disease. Our respiratory care unit provided vital assistance, treating 282 patients.
The death toll across Italy is more than 29,000.
Please pray for those sick with this coronavirus and their families around the world, and that this pandemic will soon come to an end.
In addition to our two respiratory care units, Samaritan’s Purse has also responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by supplying personal protective equipment. On April 4, we sent hospital-grade disinfectant, spray bottles, and gloves to First Nations communities in northern Manitoba and Ontario.
Whether airlifting our Emergency Field Hospital to Italy in the wake of disease outbreak, or responding to earthquakes and armed conflict, Samaritan's Purse stands ready to respond in the face of a myriad of medical crises. Your gift will help bring expert treatment, other basic needs and the hope of the Gospel to the sick and suffering.