Rising COVID cases but no mask mandate? NYC Mayor Adams' decision sparks fear among front-line nurse [View all]

[pstokely]

https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-covid-health-care-workers-fear-surge-20220527-nae4gk76gfbmlhaj4vfbw5jl4q-story.html

"
Aretha Morgan spent spring 2020 on the front lines of the COVID pandemic — and it has taken its toll. The pediatric emergency nurse now awakens at the slightest noise, her head is full of gray hairs and she goes to church more. Memories of the days when ICUs overflowed, PPE was scarce and more than 700 New Yorkers died every day remain fresh for her and other front-line nurses.

Now, as the city endures another surge in infections, Mayor Adams’ decision not to reinstate an indoor mask mandate as cases rise has helped bring back those dark memories. In a pandemic clouded by uncertainty and unpredictability, nurses worry that abandoning seemingly tried-and-true methods to limit virus spread will strain hospitals amid an ongoing staffing crisis and as new variants develop.

“Honestly, I am burnt out,” Morgan, 52, a nurse at New York-Presbyterian and single mother of two teens, said. “A lot of nurses feel that way. We talk about it almost every day ... We always hear there’s another surge, another surge, another surge and you get this lump in your chest because it’s like, ‘Oh God, are we going back to that?’ Because that was a very desolate time. It was a scary time.”

New York City upgraded its COVID-19 alert status in mid-May to “high,” triggered by an uptick in people testing positive and being hospitalized for the virus. However, Mayor Adams announced he would not reinstate the city’s indoor face mask mandate despite a city Health Department recommendation to mask up inside. This came at the chagrin of some public officials, who called on Adams to reinstate the requirement for people to wear masks."