Early in the pandemic, nurses were celebrated as heroes, with nightly symphonies of clapping or banging pots and pans.
Summary
- Now, many are being asked to go into work despite positive Covid tests — or they say they are being told they must use their vacation and sick days to stay home when they contract the coronavirus.
- In some instances, nurses who test positive have also been instructed to return to work if they are asymptomatic, according to another internal memo, also reviewed by NBC News.
- Nurses at hospitals in Maine, Florida, Missouri and California all said they were required to use personal paid time off if they tested positive.
- “I let work know I was positive, and they told me to take the seven days that were recommended at the time.
- In California, a pandemic-era law required companies with more than 25 employees to provide up to 80 hours of paid leave for Covid-related reasons.