We have just endured the most devastating few months.

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Since December 2019, a deadly outbreak of coronavirus - or COVID-19, as it is scientifically referred to - has brought the world to a total standstill.

At the initial outbreak of the deadly virus, world leaders ordered full lockdowns upon their countries...

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Ultimately forcing millions of people to quarantine at home.

Shops, restaurants, and bars have been forced to close indefinitely...

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And our once-bustling streets have been left deserted.

It has been a truly dire time...

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The virus has spread across the globe like wildfire and there's been a staggering amount of deaths as a result.

But the people who have been enduring this pandemic the most?

Our key and health workers, of course!

Millions of doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals have been putting their lives on the line every single day to try and save others...

And their hard work and selflessness have been truly commendable.

Of course, this year hasn't at all been easy for doctors and nurses...

But nevertheless, they have been putting on a brave face especially for their anxious patients.

And this has been demonstrated by a remarkable recent photograph that was taken on Thanksgiving day last week.

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The photo comes from the COVID-19 intensive care unit of Houston's United Memorial Medical Center, and it shows Dr. Joseph Varon cradling one of his distraught patients who has been kept away from his family during the festive season.

Thanksgiving marked Dr. Varon's 251st straight day of working throughout the pandemic.

In an interview he gave on CNN's New Day Wednesday, he said: "For the last few days, we've had a steady increase in the number of cases. There is no question that patients are coming in ... sicker because they are waiting longer to go to the hospital." "Unfortunately, my concern for the next 6-to-twelve weeks is that if we don't do things right, America is going to see the darkest days in modern American medical history."

But even though he's certainly been feeling the pressure...

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He has been remaining strong for his patients, just as the viral photograph of him proved.

People have been left astounded.

Here is the shocking picture.

Dr. Varon said: "My nurses in the middle of the day, they will start crying ... When they finish finally getting a patient in, they get a phone call from the ER that there is another patient that is being admitted. How have I done it? I don't know. I'm running out of fumes."

We hope that Dr. Varon and all of the other healthcare workers will get the break and recognition they deserve soon.

For more stories, read on to see what the Pope has done to try and tackle the pandemic in Rome...