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A statement released Wednesday, November 11, says the group opposes nurses infected with the virus continuing to work, noting that the choice to stay at work while infected should be up to individual nurses rather than their employers. The group also says all other public health measures aimed at reducing demand on the health system should be implemented before the new policy, including the requirement to wear a mask in public.
Due to a severe shortage of health care personnel, hospitals in North Dakota are sorely lacking in available beds. Rising COVID-19 hospitalizations and high coronavirus-free admissions, some resulting from residents who postponed healthcare earlier in the pandemic, have sparked the medical center crisis.
In an effort to alleviate some of the staffing issues, Burgum announced earlier this week that interim state health worker Dirk Wilke had changed an order to exempt healthcare workers from a period of quarantine. mandatory if they tested positive for COVID-19 but asymptomatic. The movement aligns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “crisis” guidelines, but dozens of nurses have slammed the policy on social media.
Burgum said he did not believe the move would lead to more infection, as infected nurses would only care for other people with COVID-19.
North Dakota is one of 16 states that do not have a statewide mask mandate, according to the AARP, and Burgum has repeatedly rejected the idea, saying the state relied on residents’ “personal responsibility” to voluntarily wear masks.
The North Dakota Department of Health on Wednesday announced 12 more deaths from COVID-19 and a record number of active cases.
The deaths have come from across the state, including three from Stutsman County, two from Ward County and one each from Cass, Burleigh, McHenry, Mountrail, Nelson, Ramsey and Ransom counties.
The department says 686 North Dakotans have succumbed to the disease since March and that deaths have increased at a rapid rate in the past three months. The state averaged more than 12 deaths per day in November, tied for the second deadliest month in the pandemic with 20 days from end.
At least 383 of the state’s deaths have occurred in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Eleven facilities have more than 15 active cases among residents, including Lutheran Sunset Homes in Grafton, which has 55 residents infected.
There are 11,656 residents of North Dakota infected with COVID-19, of which 254 residents are hospitalized with the disease. Another 161 patients were initially hospitalized for another illness, but later tested positive for COVID-19. Fifty-one residents infected with the virus are in intensive care.
North Dakota has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths per capita in the country over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The entire region is seeing an increase in cases, with Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Montana all seeing an increase in cases.
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State hospitals face serious staffing issues, and available hospital beds are scarce. While only about 20% of hospital patients in North Dakota have COVID-19, hospital administrators say the strain is mainly due to the staff and additional resources that must go to patients infected with the virus.
The Department of Health reported 1,039 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. All but six of the state’s 53 counties have reported at least one new case.
Cass County, which includes Fargo, reported 341 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The most populous county in the state has 1,920 infected residents.
Ward County, which includes Minot, reported 137 new cases, bringing the number of residents infected to 1,581.
Burleigh County, which includes Bismarck, reported 116 new cases on Wednesday. The county again has the most active cases in the state with 1,659. Morton County, which lies just west of Burleigh County and includes Mandan, reported 38 new cases and has 546 active cases.
Stutsman County, which includes Jamestown, has reported 97 new cases, bringing its number of active cases to 512.
Grand Forks County has reported 49 new cases, bringing its number of active cases to 1,353.
About 18.2% of the 5,719 residents tested in the last batch tested positive, and an average of 15.5% of those tested in the last two weeks tested positive.
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