Chiefs’ Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the doctor, joins battle to stop spread of COVID-19
Earlier this month, Chiefs offensive lineman/doctor Laurent Duvernay-Tardif talked in Canada about helping to get the word out about stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
While Duvernay-Tardif graduated with a medical degree from McGill University in 2018, he doesn’t have a license to practice, so he couldn’t be on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19.
On Friday, François Legault, the premier of Quebec, announced that his province had seen 22,616 people infected with COVID-19 and 1,340 deaths, the MTL blog reported. Legault asked people to step forward and help where need is greatest: in nursing homes.
Duvernay-Tardif heeded the call and began working Friday at a nursing home, La Presse reported, and he has been “assigned the duties of attendant and medic.”
La Presse didn’t reveal the name of the nursing home, but said “this is an establishment that has been relatively spared from COVID-19, with very few reported cases.”
On Monday, Duvernay-Tardif gave a first-person account of his work to Sports Illustrated, and he is working at a long-term care facility near his hometown in Quebec, about an hour from Montreal. He said one case of COVID-19 has been reported there.
“Officials had set up a makeshift space in the cafeteria with 15 beds to be filled anytime a patient comes down with symptoms,” Duvernay-Tardif said in the Sports Illustrated piece. “So far, due to those types of measures, the virus has not spread to other patients yet.
“It’s wild to think that just 10 weeks earlier I played in the biggest game in sports. I was reminded of that even at the facility, when one of the people training me turned and said, ‘You’re the football player, right?’ When I answered yes, he said, ‘Bro, you just won the Super Bowl.’ ... ‘Indeed,’ I told him, ‘and now I just want to help.’”
Duvernay-Tardif said he had to check with the Chiefs before agreeing to join the fight, but he indicated that the team has been amazing in its support.
Before even stepping foot in a facility, Duvernay-Tardif got a taste of what it’s been like for doctors and nurses around the world.
“I discussed with my girlfriend whether we will continue to sleep in the same bed or live in the same apartment,” he told Sports Illustrated. “These conversations made me realize even more the sacrifices that people in health care, on the front line, are making.”
Not that Duvernay-Tardif has needed the reminder, but the coronavirus pandemic has certainly reaffirmed the role of sports in society.
“Playing in the Super Bowl vs. heading back to the medical system during a pandemic is totally different,” he told Sports Illustrated. “Back in February, I knew that 100 million-plus people were going to be watching, and I wanted to win. When you’re going in to help, it’s more about your duty as a doctor and a citizen.
“It’s not the time to be the hero and be impulsive. You’ve gotta do it the right way. You’ve gotta really take this seriously when it comes to washing your hands, not touching anything. I know it sounds silly; it’s simple stuff. But when you’re in a long-term care facility where there are cases, you know for sure you’re going to be exposed if you don’t take those appropriate measures. You know there’s risk involved.
“Now, the big topic is how we’re going to return the economy. How fast is too fast? And we can extrapolate that to sports in general. Sport is really important; it’s a connective tissue for society. But it is not an essential business. It’s going to be interesting to see what will happen when it comes to baseball, hockey, basketball and, eventually, football in September.”
You can read more of what Duvernay-Tardif told Sports Illustrated here.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 11:12 AM.
