Doctors protest working conditions in Argentina

Doctors in Argentina held a protest in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to demand better pay and more protective gear to help them deal with COVID-19 patients.

Holding placards and encouraging passing drivers  to honk their horns in support, the doctors were calling attention to what they say is a lack of support for physicians, especially those attending  to COVID-19 patients.

Doctors say that a large number of them are getting sick because they don't have the right protective gear.

"If we get infected for not having the personal protection equipment it makes it much worse. In reality, we are being neglected and mistreated," said Ana Perna, a pediatric surgeon.

Recently, the head nurse of the emergency room of one of Buenos Aires' largest hospitals fell ill with COVID-19 and is currently in an intensive care unit.

Doctors, many dressed in white coats and wearing masks, held signs that read, "Imagine going home fearful, tired and not knowing what your future is" and "Can you imagine that day repeated for 70 days?"

On Tuesday resident doctors staged a protest in coordination with residents of a shantytown with the same demands.

Argentina has been in mandatory lockdown since March 20th. The current extension of the quarantine in Buenos Aires city and metropolitan area will last until June 7th.

The total number of confirmed cases in Argentina now stands at 13,228 and 492 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.