Recently, health authorities around the United States are now allowing nurses and others infected with the COVID virus to work provided they are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms of the disease. Previously, infected healthcare workers had been quarantined regardless of symptoms.
It is absolutely crazy that hospitals would allow people who test positive for COVID to return to work only because the facilities are short-staffed! Nurses must remove their masks to eat or drink and should they test positive, even if they are asymptomatic, we don’t know if they still can transmit the virus to others.
A number of nursing unions are very concerned about this growing trend of allowing asymptomatic positive COVID members back into the workplace. Apparently, healthcare facilities are hesitant to pay nurses, who most likely contracted COVID while on the job, to quarantine
I find it curious that COVID positive employees can return to work with neither isolation nor even testing. If we hope to stop the spread of COVID, then how can nurses who tested positive be allowed to re-enter the facilities to work?
The California Nurses Association is moving to fight these guidelines. At one facility in San Diego Sharp’s system, asymptomatic workers may return to work after 5 days, the same as the general public. In addition, they are requiring KN95 masks for 10 days.
While this latest wave, the omicron variant, is cascading out of control and with flu and other seasonal ailments surrounding us, let’s keep our healthcare providers safe so they can take of our communities NOW!
Gina Alessia says
Sadly KN95s state on the package that they are not to be used in areas of positive covid patients. They are a small step up from surgical masks. How far we have spiraled.
RN says
Some of these nurses are still symtomatic, but the hospitals saying they will use their vacation days if they don’t come back. Run em to the ground.
Follow the money trail.
Everyone only wanted a nurse who was vaccinated , the ones who didn’t stay on to get fired got vaccinated got covid and now have nurses taking care of them with covid symtoms.
Kn95 is not a n95 mask .
Patients have a right to know their nurses medical record vaccine status ?
Disappointed NP says
This is a sad place we are in in America. One of the many reasons I refused to be vaccinated is that I did not want to pass this virus to my patients while I am mildly symptomatic or assymptomatic. I don’t understand how health care providers can claim that a vaccine that doesn’t prevent infection or transmission can have any community benefits large enough to fire much needed healthcare workers. If the unvaccinated who risked their lives treating COVID patients for a year were still risking their lives for their patients, the mildly symptomatic vaccinated nurses would be able to stay home and get well instead of spreading the virus. I don’t believe patients need to know their providers vaccination status or health record. But it is troubling that we as healthcare providers are following guidelines that “cause or at least risk harm” to our patients? We have exchanged medical and nursing judgments for guidelines made by politicians. Some day we are going to look back at this, and in the same manner as we have looked at opioids concerning “Pain is what the patient says it is” “Pain is the 5th vital sign”…& oh, now we have an opioid epidemic that is killing 100s of thousands of people not to mention the other 100s of thousands with killed careers, broken relationships etc and other consequences of a political push by Big Pharma.