The first ER doctor to die from the coronavirus in the US said he was infected because he had to wear the same mask 4 days in a row

• Frank Gabrin, the first emergency-room doctor to die from the coronavirus in the US, said there was a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), forcing him to reuse what he could.
• After developing symptoms, he messaged a friend to say that "It was me using the same mask for four days in a row that infected me," The Guardian reported.
• Masks are not supposed to be reused, but doctors are reusing such equipment as they face shortages.
• The two New York-area hospitals where Gabrin worked say they were not short of equipment.
• Gabrin died in his husband's arms on March 31.

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Frank Gabrin, who became the first emergency-room doctor to die from the coronavirus in the US, had told friends before his death that he was worried about the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the hospitals he worked at and said he was ultimately infected after having to wear the same mask for four days in row.

Gabrin's friends and family shared the text messages and conversations they had with Gabrin before his death with The Guardian.

In text messages to a friend, Eddy Soffer, on March 19, Gabrin wrote: "Don't have any PPE that has not been used."

"No N95 masks - my own goggles - my own face shield," Gabrin said.

Gabrin, aged 60, was a two-time cancer survivor and died in his husband's arms on March 31.

At the time of his death he had symptoms consistent with the coronavirus, but had not been tested.

The American College of Emergency Physicians now lists Gabrin as the first emergency-room doctor to die of the virus.

He had texted his friend Debra Lyons on March 26 after he woke up with symptoms of the virus, writing, "It was me using the same mask for four days in a row that infected me," The Guardian reported.

Gabrin's husband, Arnold Vargas, had also developed symptoms of the coronavirus.

Gabrin woke up five days later struggling to breathe, saying, "Baby, I can't breathe, help me." Vargas called 911, but said Gabrin died "in my arms."

Medical masks aren't supposed to be reused, but healthcare workers are facing a dire shortage

The FDA says that N95 respirator masks "should not be shared or reused."

But shortages of medical equipment around the US have forced doctors to reuse them, to use lower-grade masks, to make their own, or to work without masks entirely.

Gabrin told friends in text messages that he was trying to use PPE, and told Lyons that he was trying to wash his N95 mask so that he could reuse it several times.

He also said that the only gloves he could get were too small and were ripped, The Guardian reported.

Lyons sent him bigger gloves from Florida and ordered him hand sanitizer.

Gabrin worked in two New York-area emergency rooms: St. John's Episcopal in Queens and East Orange General in New Jersey.

Officials in both hospitals claimed they didn't have PPE shortages.

Dr. Teddy Lee, St. John's emergency room chairman, told The Guardian, "I know for one thing he wasn't speaking about a lack of PPE at St. John's."

Alvaro Alban, East Orange's emergency room chairman, said: "If for a second I thought that was our problem at East Orange I would tell you otherwise."

Gabrin's friend Lyons appeared on CNN earlier in March, where she said that Gabrin "lost his life needlessly" due to a lack of PPE.

"It's a big thing we're asking them to face, with no tools," Lyons said on CNN. "Being on the front lines is what each one of these healthcare workers prepared themselves for - they did not expect to have to go to it with nothing."

Gabrin had also shared his reaction to the outbreak on social media.

He wrote on Facebook after cases started to climb in March that "I have to admit, I am having some anxiety," The Guardian reported.

Vargas was told that Gabrin's funeral can only have 10 people because of the continued need for social distancing.

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I lost my best friend to Covid19 a few hours ago. ⁦@DrFrankGabrin⁩ was an ER Doctor in NYC. He planned to go back to work when he recovered. It took only five days from the first sign of symptoms. He leaves a husband of less than one year behind. We are devastated. #PPENow pic.twitter.com/LVOSe9XXG6

- Debra Vasalech Lyons (@DebVasalech) March 31, 2020