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Oklahoma State Department of Health allows healthcare workers who have tested positive for COVID-19, but do not show symptoms of the virus, to continue working in hospitals and care facilities long term.
But the Oklahoma Nurses Association opposes allowing asymptomatic nurses positive for COVID-19 to continue working, and on Monday called the recommendation a “reckless” solution to the state’s staffing shortage.
Travis Kirkpatrick, deputy commissioner for the State Department of Health, said asymptomatic healthcare workers can only be used as a last resort for short periods of time when absolutely necessary. The agency looked into the issue after some long-term care providers expressed concerns that they could not continue providing care without this allowance.
“Because some Oklahoma hospitals and nursing homes are experiencing staff shortages, the Oklahoma State Department of Health is allowing asymptomatic staff who previously tested positive for COVID-19 to continue to work, ”Kirkpatrick said in a statement. “This is something that is already happening in many other states, and we ask that it be used only as a last resort in times of emergency and extreme staff shortages.”
Medical staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to treat non-COVID patients. Hospitals and long-term care facilities will primarily be urged to self-regulate and develop their own protocols to prevent COVID-positive workers from interacting with non-COVID workers and patients.
Critics said it would be difficult for healthcare employers to completely separate COVID positive and non-COVID workers when they share many common spaces in facility entrances, hallways and washrooms.
Kirkpatrick stressed that state officials had not taken the decision lightly and that only health workers who volunteered to work while asymptomatic should be allowed to work.
“No nurse should ever be forced to work when they are asymptomatic,” he said.
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