California Nurses Suspended After Refusing To Treat COVID-19 Patients Without Masks
Ten nurses in Santa Monica, California were suspended after telling their managers they wouldn’t enter COVID-19 patient rooms without being provided protective N95 face masks, according to Fox4.
The nurses are being paid but are not allowed to return to work pending an investigation from human resources, according to the National Nurses Union.
One of the nurses said the decision to stand up for himself was heartwrenching but after his colleague tested positive for the coronavirus, he felt he had no choice.
Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not require healthcare workers to wear N95 masks while treating patients, but many hospitals are providing them because the masks block 95% of airborne particles, according to FOX4.
The hospital did not comment on the suspended nurses but said in a statement Tuesday that it was providing N95 masks to all nurses caring for COVID-19 patients.
