As state hospitals reach capacity and face staff shortages, North Dakota will now continue to employ healthcare workers who tested positive for Covid-19 in coronavirus units, officials announced this week.
The hospital’s administrators have called for extraordinary action, and interim state health officer Dirk Wilke has amended the order to implement the new measure, Governor Doug Bergham told a news conference Monday.
Now, North Dakota healthcare workers are allowed to continue treating Covid-19 patients, even if they have tested positive for the virus.
“This only applies to covid-positive healthcare workers who do not have symptoms and are only allowed to operate covid units around patients who already have the virus,” Bergam said.
These positive cases are forcing hospitals to run at 100% capacity while the state government is struggling to eradicate the coronavirus-infested healthcare system.
“There is a lot of pressure on our hospitals now,” Bergham said [rose] By another 10 per cent. That’s 60 percent more than just four weeks ago. ”
During the press conference, the governor moved each county in the state to the “high-risk” category, telling state residents to take the virus so seriously that they take “diabetes” or “heart disease.”
Covid-positive disease and control centers allow healthcare workers to work when they follow “emergency capacity strategies,” allowing healthcare workers to confirm being potential or positive to return to work if there is a persistent staff shortage.
Bergham said this would not pose a significant risk for further spread, as only patients with the virus would be in contact with COVID-positive healthcare workers.
But Tessa Johnson, president of the North Dakota Nurses Association, told NBC News she was not so sure.
“What about the bathroom and the break room and the elevator and all those spaces? How do we keep those things clean? It’s not real, “he said.
Johnson, who serves as executive director at the senior long-term care facility, said staffing during an epidemic is a constant challenge. “People are tired. People are emotional. People are stressed. People can’t take more physically, emotionally, “he said. “We’re losing nurses.”
Johnson said that because of the risk and the job, some nurses may be at unemployment – and the new move allowing nurses to work during illness “will only make matters worse.”
“They’re very concerned about common spaces,” Jones said of the nurses she spoke to. “The nurses are saying: ‘We want to take a break if we can be positive in this place. It’s a welcome break. We’re fed up, we’re working harder, wanting the rest. So, how can I be positive and come down from this disease and still continue my best efforts? ”
Sherry Miller, executive director of the North Dakota Nurses Association, reiterated these concerns. “It’s kind of a catch-22. Covid-positive, asymptomatic individuals work, there is a risk of spreading. “
“If we continue to keep these patients, I honestly don’t know what the remedy is other than asking positive nurses to take care of them.”
Both Miller and Johnson said it would be a better way for the state to introduce a mask order to reduce transmission. With fewer patients, they said, covid-positive healthcare workers will not need to continue working.
During Monday’s press conference, Bergum said “there is no conclusive data on the statewide mask order” and that local municipalities would avoid that decision.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
