US Nurses Read Names of Colleagues Killed by Coronavirust

A group of registered nurses gathered outside the White House on Tuesday in honor of nurses who have died of COVID-19 and to demand mass production of personal protective equipment.

The nurses, from the National Nurses United union, were calling on the Trump administration to supply hospitals with more personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks and gowns so they can safely treat coronavirus patients. As of Tuesday evening, the US has recorded over 823,000 cases and more than 44,000 deaths.

“If you don’t protect us, we can’t protect our patients,” one nurse said.

During the protest, one of the nurses began to read out the names of nurses across the US killed in the line of duty.

“We remember the thousands of nurses and other healthcare workers that have become infected with COVID-19, and those who have died,” she said.

“We are demanding that the Trump administration and the US Congress listen to these names, all dedicated nurses, who have left families, friends, and colleagues behind,” she continued.

“Listen to their names and take action so more nurses don’t get sick and die,” the nurse said before reading out the names. Several nurses, complying with social distancing measures, stood behind her while holding photos of those who have died from the disease.

Video from the event was shared by actress and activist Alyssa Milano.

The US has reported nearly 820,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and roughly 45,000 deaths stemming from it.

FDA Approves Decontamination Of N95 Respirators For Reuse

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization to sterilization system that will allow about four million N95 or N95-equivalent respirators to be decontaminated each day. The sterilized respirators will be reused by healthcare workers in hospital settings.

“This authorization will help provide access to millions of respirators so our health care workers on the front lines can be better protected and provide the best care to patients with COVID-19,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn.

The sterilization system helps address the shortage of these vital masks used by healthcare workers to protect themselves from exposure to the novel coronavirus.

The FDA granted emergency use authorization or EUA to advanced sterilization products for the STERRAD Sterilization Cycles, which uses vaporized hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization.

There are about 9,930 STERRAD Sterilization systems in about 6,300 hospitals across the U.S. STERRAD 100S Cycle, STERRAD NX Standard Cycle and STERRAD 100NX Express Cycle vary in reprocessing times from 55 minutes, to 28 minutes, and 24 minutes. Each can reprocess about 480 respirators per day.

Steris Corp plc. confirmed Friday that the EUA allows the company to temporarily provide a solution for decontaminating compatible N95 or N95-equivalent respirators using the 28-minute Non-Lumen Cycle available on most V-PRO models. Steris recommended decontaminating masks after each use, up to a maximum of ten times. Ten masks can be decontaminated per cycle.

Separately, Battelle, an applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, said Friday that its decontamination services for N95 respirator masks would be offered at no charge to healthcare providers. The non-profit, private company noted it is trying to help protect the workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Beaumont has 1,500 workers with coronavirus symptoms, including 500 nurses

About 1,500 workers — including 500 nurses — are off the job at Michigan’s largest hospital system because of coronavirus symptoms.

The employees at Beaumont Health “have symptoms consistent with COVID-19,” spokesman Mark Geary told Bridge Magazine Monday.

He said he didn’t have a count on the number of physicians sickened. The remaining sidelined workers could be anyone “throughout the system,” from front line medical staff to office personnel and others.

The sick count at Beaumont comes the same day that Henry Ford Health System said it had about 600-700 workers who had tested positive for COVID-19. Beaumont, in contrast, did not disclose how many of its 1,500 workers out with symptoms actually tested positive.

The combined numbers at Beaumont and Henry Ford are the latest indication of how fiercely the coronavirus has attacked metro Detroit. And they underscore the growing anxiety of hospital workers, most notably nurses, who are in close contact with COVID-19 patients, often without adequate protective gear because of limited supplies.

Geary said it’s impossible to know how many of the Beaumont employees were exposed through work, by other family members or in the community.

Some employees, he said, are nearing the end of their seven days at home, have no symptoms, and are nearly ready to return to work.

Italian nurse with coronavirus kills herself over fear of infecting others

A 34-year-old Italian nurse working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic took her own life after testing positive for the illness and was terrified that she had infected others, according to a report.

Daniela Trezzi had been suffering “heavy stress” amid fears she was spreading the deadly bug while treating patients at the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza in the hard-hit region of Lombardy, the Daily Mail reported.

She was working in the intensive care unit while under quarantine after being diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the UK news site.

The National Federation of Nurses of Italy expressed its “pain and dismay” over Trezzi’s death, which came as the country’s mounting death toll surged with 743 additional fatalities Tuesday.

“Each of us has chosen this profession for good and, unfortunately, also for bad: we are nurses,” the federation said.

“The condition and stress to which our professionals are subjected is under the eyes of all,” it said, adding that “a similar episode had happened a week ago in Venice, with the same underlying reasons.”

Hospital general manager Mario Alparone said Trezzi had been at home sick since March 10 and that “she was not under surveillance.”

The nurse’s death is under investigation.

About 5,760 health care workers have been infected by the virus, according to figures released Tuesday by an Italian research institute.

Child left with mom’s dead body for over 12 hours after she died of coronavirus

The body of a coronavirus-stricken Georgia health care worker was found in her home with her young child more than 12 hours after she died of the illness, according to a report.

The 42-year-old woman, who wasn’t identified, was likely dead for 12 to 16 hours before she was discovered during a welfare check Thursday at her Coweta County home, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Her child, who is 4 or 5 years old, was in the home at the time, the report said.

Coweta County Coroner Richard Hawk said tests following her death confirmed that she had the infectious virus. It is unclear if the child has also now been sickened.

She worked as a ultrasound technician at Piedmont Newnan Hospital, the outlet reported. It’s not clear how she contracted the bug.

Georgia has reported 25 fatalities from the COVID-19 virus that has spread to more than 1,000 people in the state, news station WOTC reported.

Tennessee man who stockpiled hand sanitizer donates 17,700 bottles ahead of investigation

A Tennessee man who went viral after stockpiling 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer donated all of the products Sunday after Tennessee officials announced they would investigate him for price gouging amid the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 160,000 people worldwide.

Tennessee man who stockpiled hand sanitizer donates 17,700 bottles ahead of investigation

A local church took two-thirds of the supply of hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes from Matt Colvin, an Amazon seller who lives outside Chattanooga, Tenn. The church will distribute the supplies to those who need the products across the state, The New York Times reported.

Amazon and eBay suspended his accounts on the sites Sunday. The Tennessee attorney general’s office also sent him a cease-and-desist letter over the products, the office announced in a Saturday statement.

“We will not tolerate price gouging in this time of exceptional need, and we will take aggressive action to stop it,” Attorney General Herbert Slatery III of Tennessee said in the statement

Under Tennessee law, the attorney general’s office can “put a stop to price gouging and seek refunds for consumers,” according to the release.

Florida day care worker charged after toddlers’ legs broken

A worker at a Florida day care center is facing child neglect charges after four toddlers suffered broken legs on the same day.

The Panama City News Herald reports that 25-year-old Christina Marie Curtis was arrested recently after the May 21 incident at Kids Discovery Learning Center in Valparaiso. It wasn’t immediately clear if she has a lawyer to represent her but she was released on $4,000 bail last month.

An arrest report says all four young boys were fine the morning of the incident. Later that day, they were having difficulty standing or walking and medical personnel determined they had all suffered leg fractures.

Under terms of her release, Curtis cannot have unsupervised contact with any child and cannot be employed at child care facilities or schools.

Maggots found on patient at facility where incapacitated woman impregnated

A healthcare facility in Arizona, which was in the news last year after a comatose woman was raped and impregnated, is in trouble again. Hacienda Healthcare was found to be inadequate of taking care of patients and has had its license revoked after a patient was found with maggots under his bandage.

David Leibowitz, a spokesperson for the facility, told CBS News that a 28-year-old male patient had “several” maggots under his gauze near his stoma incision. A stoma is the opening in the skin where a pouch for collecting feces is attached.

According to the statement released by the facility, the incident was reported and the patient was taken to the hospital. He added that there were no other problems with the patient and there were no other patients from the facility who had been “similarly impacted”.

The Arizona Department of Health Services said late Friday that the move will give the state more oversight of the facility but will not force it to close. Chris Minnick told the news outlet in a statement, “Based on findings from a recent survey and an extremely disturbing incident involving inadequate patient care that was reported to and investigated by ADHS this week, the Department has determined strong and immediate action is necessary to further protect the Hacienda ICF-IID residents,” the statement said.

Police officials in Arizona had launched a sexual assault investigation earlier last year after a comatose patient, in the facility gave birth in December 2018. Reports stated that the staff at Hacienda HealthCare had been giving the female patient round-the-clock care. The Native American woman, who had been in their care for 14 years was said to have been raped for many months, if not years, before the birth. 37-year-old Nathan Sutherland was accused and charged with the crime.

He pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault and vulnerable-adult abuse in February. He is being held in a Maricopa County jail on a $500,000 cash-only bail. The CEO of the facility, Bill Timmons resigned after the incident along with a doctor. Another doctor from the facility was suspended.