Spanish Actress Gemma Marin Returns to Nursing to Treat Coronavirus Patients

Reuters reports that Gemma Marin has returned to nursing after ten years in order to join the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Marin, an actress and social media influencer, posted a video announcing her return to the medical field, shared by Reuters on Friday.

Spanish actress and social media influencer Gemma Marin returned to the nursing profession after 10 years to help treat COVID-19 patients. Follow for live updates https://t.co/6WDDkH6xXl pic.twitter.com/fy8ONBiwI3

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 3, 2020

“Hi, my name is Gemma Marin. I used to work as an influencer, actress, and dancer — but since last week, I’ve been working as a nurse,” Marin said in the recording. “I’m in Spain, living in Madrid. I mean, Madrid is one of the cities that is most affected,” she continued:

You cannot stay at home when something like this is happening. So I sent my resume. I told all the hospitals “if you need me, I’m available right now.” The only thing is, I haven’t been working for the last ten years. It’s not only me. There are thousands of people working every day in the hospitals.

Marin also had a message of warning for anyone watching her video. She said, “if you could see [five minutes of] what is going on in the hospital, trust me that you would be at home doing what they are telling you to do.” She ended the clip with an exhortation: “Please, stay at home, wash your hands, do everything they are telling you to do. Because the situation is really hard, and it’s completely true.”

Her efforts are not exactly the norm for celebrity response to the global pandemic officially classified “COVID-19” by the World Health Organization. Better-known stars like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez are sticking to donations, while Gal Gadot sings “Imagine,” and Richard Simmons restarts workout videos for people in self-quarantine.

In the meantime, real heroes are on the front lines, while people like award-winning chef Richard Bayless support the hungry. Bayless has promised to help unemployed restaurant workers with an initiative that will produce 800 30-pound boxes of food every week, in order to provide both income and nutrition to those in need.