Few are talking about viral load or the real danger to doctors and nurses.

As more and more people become infected in a community, there are more viral particles circulating in the air and on surfaces. For example, a fairly healthy person may ingest a sneeze or cough droplet that contains two hundred million viral particles. His immune system can handle this contact with the virus. On the other hand, a fairly healthy person, a doctor or nurse in a New York emergency room who comes in contact with hundreds or more droplets and  might ingest thousands of droplets in a day or week (two hundred billion or more viral particles) will have a much higher probability of succumbing to the virus. His immune system is overwhelmed by the massive viral load. Regular surgical mask and gowns are inadequate to protect a healthcare worker who requires advanced masks (N95 masks) and face shields and even better, true hazmat suits. So many doctors and nurses are dying because they don't have the proper equipment. From Wikipedia, we see that Covid-19 falls into the category of Biosafety level 3, EXCEPT, the damn f--king virus is all throughout the air in an ICU/ER because there are few rooms with positive pressure ventilation. From Wikipedia....

Biosafety level 3[edit]

Researcher at US Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, working with influenza virus under biosafety level 3 conditions, with respirator inside a biosafety cabinet (BSC).

Biosafety level 3 is appropriate for work involving microbes which can cause serious and potentially lethal disease via the inhalation route.^[10] This type of work can be done in clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or production facilities.^[11] Here, the precautions undertaken in BSL-1 and BSL-2 labs are followed, as well as additional measures including:

• All laboratory personnel are provided medical surveillance and offered relevant immunizations (where available) to reduce the risk of an accidental or unnoticed infection.^[10]
• All procedures involving infectious material must be done within a biological safety cabinet.^[10]
• Laboratory personnel must wear solid-front protective clothing (i.e. gowns that tie in the back). This cannot be worn outside of the laboratory and must be discarded or decontaminated after each use.^[10]
• A laboratory-specific biosafety manual must be drafted which details how the laboratory will operate in compliance with all safety requirements.^[10]

In addition, the facility which houses the BSL-3 laboratory must have certain features to ensure appropriate containment. The entrance to the laboratory must be separated from areas of the building with unrestricted traffic flow.^[10] Additionally, the laboratory must be behind two sets of self-closing doors (to reduce the risk of aerosols escaping).^[11] The construction of the laboratory is such that it can be easily cleaned. Carpets are not permitted, and any seams in the floors, walls, and ceilings are sealed to allow for easy cleaning and decontamination.^[10] Additionally, windows must be sealed, and a ventilation system installed which forces air to flow from the "clean" areas of the lab to the areas where infectious agents are handled.^[10] Air from the laboratory must be filtered before it can be recirculated.^[10]

Biosafety level 3 is commonly used for research and diagnostic work involving various microbes which can be transmitted by aerosols and/or cause severe disease. These include Francisella tularensis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Chlamydia psittaci, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, SARS coronavirus, SARS-Cov-2, MERS coronavirus, Coxiella burnetii, Rift Valley fever virus, Rickettsia rickettsii, several species of Brucella, chikungunya, yellow fever virus, West Nile virus, Yersinia pestis.^[14][15]

Biosafety level 4[edit]

See also: List of biosafety level 4 organisms

CDC technician dons an older-model positive-pressure suit before entering one of the CDC's earlier BSL-4 labs.

Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) is the highest level of biosafety precautions, and is appropriate for work with agents that could easily be aerosol-transmitted within the laboratory and cause severe to fatal disease in humans for which there are no available vaccines or treatments.^[10] BSL-4 laboratories are generally set up to be either cabinet laboratories or protective-suit laboratories.^[10] In cabinet laboratories, all work must be done within a class III biosafety cabinet.^[10] Materials leaving the cabinet must be decontaminated by passing through an autoclave or a tank of disinfectant.^[10] The cabinets themselves are required to have seamless edges to allow for easy cleaning. Additionally the cabinet and all materials within must be free of sharp edges in order to reduce the risk of damage to the gloves.^[10] In a protective-suit laboratory, all work must be done in a class II biosafety cabinet by personnel wearing a positive pressure suit.^[10] In order to exit the BSL-4 laboratory, personnel must pass through a chemical shower for decontamination, then a room for removing the positive-pressure suit, followed by a personal shower.^[10] Entry into the BSL-4 laboratory is restricted to trained and authorized individuals, and all persons entering and exiting the laboratory must be recorded.^[10]

As with BSL-3 laboratories, BSL-4 laboratories must be separated from areas that receive unrestricted traffic. Additionally airflow is tightly controlled to ensure that air always flows from "clean" areas of the lab to areas where work with infectious agents is being performed.^[10] The entrance to the BSL-4 lab must also employ airlocks to minimize the possibility that aerosols from the lab could be removed from the lab. All laboratory waste, including filtered air, water, and trash must also be decontaminated before it can leave the facility.^[10]

Biosafety level 4 laboratories are used for diagnostic work and research on easily transmitted pathogens which can cause fatal disease. These include a number of viruses known to cause viral hemorrhagic fever such as Marburg virus, Ebola virus, Lassa virus, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Other pathogens handled at BSL-4 include Hendra virus, Nipah virus, and some flaviviruses. Additionally, poorly characterized pathogens which appear closely related to dangerous pathogens are often handled at this level until sufficient data are obtained either to confirm continued work at this level, or to permit working with them at a lower level.^[14] This level is also used for work with Variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, though this work is only performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, United States, and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Russia.^[16]