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As state hospitals reach capacity and face severe staffing shortages, North Dakota will now allow healthcare workers who have tested positive for Covid-19 to continue working in coronavirus units , officials said this week.
Hospital administrators have called for extraordinary measures to be taken, Gov. Doug Burgum said at a press conference Monday, and acting public health official Dirk Wilke changed an order to allow the news measure to come into force.
Now, healthcare workers in North Dakota are allowed to continue treating Covid-19 patients, even if they themselves have tested positive for the virus.
“This only applies to Covid-positive healthcare workers who do not show symptoms and are only allowed to work in Covid units around patients who already have the virus,” Burgum said.
The move comes as the state struggles to alleviate a health system overwhelmed by the coronavirus, with record positive cases pushing hospitals to operate at 100% of capacity.
“Our hospitals are under tremendous pressure now,” Burgum said. “In recent days, our hospitalizations due to Covid [rose] an additional 10%. This is 60% more than just four weeks ago. “
During the press conference, the governor moved every county in the state to the “high risk” category, asking residents of the state to take the virus as seriously as they take “diabetes” or “heart disease”.
Allow healthcare workers to work while Covid-positive follows the Centers for Disease and Control’s ‘crisis capacity strategies’, which allows healthcare workers suspected or confirmed to be positive to return to work in the event of a shortage persistent staff.
Burgum said this would not pose a significant risk of spread, as only patients with the virus will come into contact with COVID-positive health workers.
But Tessa Johnson, president of the North Dakota Nurses Association, told NBC News she wasn’t so sure.
“What about the bathrooms, the break rooms, the elevators and all of those spaces? How are we going to keep these things clean? It’s not realistic, ”she said.
Johnson, who is also the general manager of a long-term care facility for the elderly, said staffing was a constant challenge during the pandemic. “People are exhausted. People are emotional. People are stressed. People can’t take much more physically, emotionally, ”she said. “We are losing nurses.”
Johnson said that because of the risk and cost of labor, some nurses would prefer to be unemployed – and the new measure allowing nurses to work while they are sick “will only make matters worse”.
“They’re very concerned about the common spaces,” Johnson said of the nurses she spoke with. “Nurses say, ‘If we get positive at this point, we want to take a break. It’s a welcome break. We are exhausted, overworked, we need the rest. So how do I get positive and get this disease and keep doing my best?
Sherri Miller, executive director of the North Dakota Nurses Association, reiterated those concerns. “It’s kind of a catch-22. If asymptomatic Covid-positive individuals are working, there is a risk of spread. “
“If we continue to have these patients, I honestly don’t know what else is there other than having HIV positive nurses take care of them,” Johnson said.
Miller and Johnson both say a better solution would be for the state to issue a mask warrant to reduce transmission. With fewer patients, they said, it would not be necessary for Covid-positive healthcare workers to continue working.
During Monday’s press conference, Burgum said “there is no conclusive data on statewide mask warrants” and that he will defer this decision to local municipalities.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.
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