David Bignot:
The 2 males working the ship advised us that the ship is roughly 87 p.c empty. Sounds worrying, does not it? They’ve 200 beds, and 87 p.c of them are empty.
Now, here is what they stated: We’re prepared for something the federal government needs to do. We’re ready for the federal government to inform us this.
So, I went to the governor and advised him precisely what was occurring. “Look, I am not proud of the protocol from the start,” he stated.
He stated, initially, they had been solely prioritizing probably the most essential sufferers who had been going to relaxation. He stated there was a multi-layered course of that was complicating issues.
So, the governor, Ricardo Rosselló, stated: “I began to take a few of these layers out, and I stated, pay attention, take individuals on board who is probably not critically in poor health, however they want good medical care they usually cannot get to the hospital, the place the lights are on.” “It is flashing and the air conditioner is not working.”
That is what the governor stated.
Inside hours, I received a tweet from a third-year medical scholar who stated: “Let me let you know what a nightmare it was to get to aid.”
“We now have a pediatric affected person who desperately must be off this island, both to a hospital on the mainland or to Consolation,” he stated.
“I searched Google and the native newspaper to search out the quantity, however I could not discover it,” he stated.
Now, here is how issues work. Inside about half-hour of that tweet and the medical scholar’s story being printed, the governor’s spokesperson responded with numbers that ought to have the ability to assist.
The underside line right here, William, is that relentless questioning and good journalism is what makes a distinction on the market. It isn’t one individual. There isn’t any heroic act achieved by any journalist, besides individuals who return to the identical officers, ask a few of the similar questions, and search relentlessly for the proper reply that may make a distinction.
