Nurses protest outside the White House over 'Trump's failure' to provide protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic- before they pause to remember 50 colleagues who have died from the virus
America's largest nurses union has staged a protest outside the White House calling on the government to ramp up production of personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly two dozen members from National Nurses United descended upon Washington, D.C. Tuesday, saying the lack of PPE has caused tens of thousands of their colleagues to become infected with COVID-19.
The protesters also brandished placards featuring the names and faces of 50 nurses who have died from the virus since the beginning of the outbreak.
At one point, the group solemnly stood six feet a part as one member of the NNU read out the names of the deceased.
'We're here because our colleagues are dying,' nurse Erica Jones told NBC News.
'I think that right now, people think of us as heroes. But we're feeling like martyrs, we're feeling like we're being left on the battlefield with nothing,' she stated.
Last week, CDC officials revealed that data provided by states tracking the occupations of people with COVID-19 indicated that healthcare workers account for 11% of infections.
With 812,000 Americans testing positive to the coronavirus, that would mean more close to 90,000 healthcare workers have come down with the disease.
America's largest nurses union has staged a protest outside The White House calling on the government to ramp up production of personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic
Protesters also brandished placards featuring the names and faces of 50 nurses who have died from the virus since the beginning of the outbreak
The nurses wore masks as stood six feet apart from one another as they held up signs for photographers
The union is outraged that no federal health and safety standards have been established amid the pandemic, despite the shocking toll the virus has taken on healthcare workers
The union is outraged that no federal health and safety standards have been established amid the pandemic, despite the shocking toll the virus has taken on healthcare workers.
NNU representative Amirah Sequeira told NBC News: 'Right now what's happening, in hospitals across this country, nurses are being told to reuse their N95 masks, not only their whole shift but for days or weeks on end.
'That is not safe. That is not protecting them, and it is not protecting their patients. We need an OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] standard to tell hospitals that the reuse of N95 masks is unacceptable and unsafe.'
The union announced plans for the protest on their website Monday, stating: 'With the failure of the Trump administration to protect health care workers, NNU is demanding that Congress include a mandatory OSHA emergency standard in its next COVID-19 legislative package.'
The nurses union is also calling on President Trump to ramp up production of personal protective equipment by using the Defense Production Act of 1950
The group paused to remember 50 of their colleagues who have passed away from COVID-19
The NNU is demanding 'the mass production of PPE, including N95 respirators, face shields, gowns, gloves and shoe coverings, as well as ventilators and COVID-19 testing kits'
The nurses union is also calling on President Trump to ramp up production of personal protective equipment by using the Defense Production Act of 1950, which authorizes the Commander-in-chief to have business make materials deemed necessary for national defense.
The NNU is demanding 'the mass production of PPE, including N95 respirators, face shields, gowns, gloves and shoe coverings, as well as ventilators and COVID-19 testing kits'.
The group claims they will need 3.5 billion N95 masks to see them through the pandemic.
Trump was initially reluctant to invoke the Defense Production Act, which prompted widespread criticism due to a drastic shortage of ventilators.
However, he later invoked the DPA to require 3M and General Electric to produce protective masks.
On Sunday, he also authorities prompted criticism has invoked the Defense Production Act for testing swabs - revealing that he has ordered an unnamed company to produce 20 million swabs per month.
The NNU claims they will need 3.5 billion N95 masks to see them through the pandemic
The group say President Trump has failed to protect them as they serve on the frontline of the crisis
Trump has been reluctant to invoke the Defense Production Act - something the healthcare workers say is essential to safely see them through the pandemic
Nurses protest outside the White House over 'Trump's failure' to provide protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic- before they pause to remember 50 colleagues who have died from the virus
![Nurses protest outside the White House over 'Trump's failure' to provide protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic- before they pause to remember 50 colleagues who have died from the virus]()
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April 22, 2020
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