Coronavirus: Nurses And Doctors

WAMU 88.5 | By Morgan Givens, Kaity Kline

Published March 16, 2020 at 1:08 PM CDT

An exterior view of Harlem Hospital Center, aka NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States.

Many Americans are doing their best to avoid contact with coronavirus, but the nation’s medical professionals are putting themselves in the infection’s path to save lives and treat patients.

Some have gone into quarantine after contracting the virus due to contact with confirmed cases. Others are asking for better protections as they work, citing the need for thicker surgical masks, better virus isolation plans and more.

Protection for these medical professionals is crucial to the nation’s coronavirus response. If too many doctors, nurses and caretakers are infected and quarantined, the medical system will be put under an even greater strain.

What steps are hospitals and medical authorities taking to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19? And is it possible to completely protect healthcare workers whose job it is to be near the coronavirus? We’ll hear from those on the frontline helping patients.