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Colleagues and others are mourning the coronavirus-related death earlier this week of Italian physician Roberto Stella, 67, leader of the medical association in Italy's northern Varese region, who continued to treat patients even after protective gear ran out.
Stella, president of the Medical Guild of Varese, died of respiratory failure after contracting SARS-CoV-2 Tuesday in a Como hospital, according to news reports.
A colleague of Stella's at a health service training academy in the region, Alessandro Colombo, was quoted by the Italian news service ANSA as saying that Stella told him a few days ago, "We have run out of masks. But we don't stop. We are careful and we go on."
Colombo continued, "Such a man belongs to everyone, because he gave himself to everyone. He was more than a hero; he was a man who knew how to cry. Who was moved in the face of beauty and truth. He wanted to change. Change yourself and help people do it. A master."
ABC News reported that Stella was a general practitioner in Busto Arsizio, a city about 20 miles from Milan.
According to the BBC, as of Thursday Italy has recorded at least
