Health & Fitness

Dozen Nurses Test Positive For Coronavirus At U of I Hospital

Twelve nurses at University of Illinois Hospital were infected with the new coronavirus. One nurse was pregnant, nurses union says.

A dozen nurses at University of Illinois Hospital have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the Illinois Nurses Union.
A dozen nurses at University of Illinois Hospital have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the Illinois Nurses Union. (Shutterstock)

CHICAGO — A dozen nurses at University of Illinois Hospital have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the Illinois Nurses Union and hospital officials.

"These nurses don't have access to the personal protective equipment they need, even on a unit designated for people who test positive for coronavirus," union executive director Alice Johnson said. "We a have a lot of reports that nurses are being told not to use N95 masks. They're using regular masks. Twelve nurses were infected. One was pregnant, and that is quite disturbing."

The state nurses union, for weeks, has been demanding that nurses receive personal protective gear including N95 masks, which get their name because they are able to block at least 95 percent of 0.3 micron particles.

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Johnson said one of the U of I Hospital nurses was exposed to the virus at work. She said hospitals are putting nurses at risk by trying to conserve their inventory of personal protective equipment.

"They do not know day to day if they will have masks, gowns, gloves or goggles for that shift," she said. "One nurse said their unit manager scolded them for wearing a mask in a room where a COVID-19 positive patient was being intubated."

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Michael Zenn, CEO of the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics, said some of the nurses are believed to have become infected during personal travel or interactions and disputed the union's claim about protective equipment.

"All care providers at UI Health haven been provided guidance to use personal protective equipment as recommended by the CDC and in some cases we have implemented recommendations that go beyond these guidelines. Most importantly, our policy for COVID-19 is that all providers who care for patients confirmed to have COVID-19 or suspected of having COVID-19 should wear PPE," Zenn said in a statement. "There are no circumstances in which we would ask our care providers to forgo PPE when caring for COVID-19 patients."


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