awww wheres the rest of it? that looked pretty good for a start
My daughter orders from Costco online and they deliver to her house. I was able to get milk, cheese, bread, butter with her order. (She is not buying fresh veggies or meat at this time. Just stuff sealed in packages.)Coronavirus: Retailers Make Safety Changes for Employees, Shoppers
Home Depot has a new rule for employees: take your temperature before showing up to work. It’s one of many changes big-box retailers are putting in place to slow down the spread of coronavirus. And Home Depot is not alone — Target, Costco, and Walmart are making big changes shoppers willl notice...www.nbcbayarea.com
Coronavirus: Retailers Make Safety Changes for Employees, Shoppers
Costco, Home Depot, Target and other big-box retailers announce changes to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
By Melissa Colorado • Published April 3, 2020 • Updated on April 4, 2020 at 7:43 pm
NBC Universal, Inc.
Home Depot has a new rule for employees: take your temperature before showing up to work.
It's one of many changes big-box retailers are putting in place to slow down the spread of coronavirus. And Home Depot is not alone -- Target, Costco, and Walmart are making big changes shoppers willl notice the next time they visit.
"If we don't take action right now, it could get worse," said Yandy Linares, a Home Depot shopper.
Home Depot said it is handing out thermometers to employees and asking them to take their body temperature before their shift. The home improvement retailer said it is also doing the following:
Meanwhile, Target said it is buying non-surgical face masks and gloves for employees at the start of every shift. The retailer said it is also ordering plexiglass barriers for cash registers.
- Limiting the number of customers in stores
- Reminding shoppers through the PA system about physical distancing
- Closing early to sanitize stores
- No spring sales to avoid driving customers to stores
"You have to be concerned, period," Linares said. "It's starting to get very serious."
It's starting to get serious at Costco, too. The membership-only warehouse store on Friday started downsizing shoppers by implementing a two-person per card limit.
Seniors and the disabled will be able to shop without having to deal with a line on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8 to 9 a.m.
Home Depot is offering employees extra pay and expanding its paid time off policy. If a Home Depot employee is infected with COVID-19, the company said it will pay that employee until they are cleared from a doctor to return to work.
But the article you posted the other day makes the good point that there are plenty of people who were in close contact with positive cases who did not get sick. No symptoms and a negative test. (not an asymptomatic positive). And not everyone on a subway car with a positive case will get it, but maybe everyone on one subway car with one case will. Why? Superspreader? The person who is spreading the disease has a higher viral load? It's not as contagious airborne unless the person has that higher viral load but is more contagious aerolized and foments with a lower viral load? I think it's going to take a year or two before all the studies are done and we have the answers. We can't wait that long of course so we have to be generally cautious. But it'll be interesting to get the answers to these questions down the road.All of those densly packed areas are not the same, though, are they? I thought it was noted that NY relied on mass transit, and thus folks were in close contact, breathing the same air, etc. That is not true in other areas, despite the density? :: shrug ::
But the article you posted the other day makes the good point that there are plenty of people who were in close contact with positive cases who did not get sick. No symptoms and a negative test. (not an asymptomatic positive). And not everyone on a subway car with a positive case will get it, but maybe everyone on one subway car with one case will. Why? Superspreader? The person who is spreading the disease has a higher viral load? It's not as contagious airborne unless the person has that higher viral load but is more contagious aerolized and foments with a lower viral load? I think it's going to take a year or two before all the studies are done and we have the answers. We can't wait that long of course so we have to be generally cautious. But it'll be interesting to get the answers to these questions down the road.
HD
Trump takes federalism seriously. We are not a top down hierarchical system. We are a composite government. The people delegate authority and have delegated separate authorities to the federal government and to each of the states in which they live. Conversely, the federal government does not have jurisdiction over the states but over the citizens of the nation, the subject matter enumerated in the Constitution and the geographic nation. The states have a separate jurisdiction over the citizens of the state, the so called "police powers" of regulation and the geographic area of the state.Not sure if anyone else caught this, when a reporter asked why doesn't Trump close everything down to minimize risk, and trump replied, "I will get to that later" said something else, then moved on to another question. Very interesting...
I didn't watch the cam, just relied on the initial pic which had lots o' people; just tried to watch and it says unavailable... :/
3 in Times Square, yah that's pretty deserted.
She could probably harvest enough Corona in her butt crack to take the whole town down. This is a good reason for using a credit card when ever possible
Their tests were only 30% true, as I recall. They could have had two false negatives when they originally cleared or false positives now. Were they serology (blood) tests or presence absence in throat and feces?And again, and again, and again...
And, this is why you weld the doors of apartment buildings shut, trapping infected inside...
China: Some ‘Cleared’ Coronavirus Patients Test Positive Three Times
The South China Morning Post on Thursday discussed a “recovered” coronavirus patient named Adele Jiang who has been quarantined in a hotel in Hubei, the province where the outbreak began, after testing positive for the third time.
Jiang, a 24-year-old student, has been hospitalized, placed in isolation, and discharged twice, only to begin the cycle again when she tested positive less than two weeks after being released. She said her repeated hospitalizations left her “confused and upset.”
“I was not even told that I had retested positive until I was sent to hospital and the doctors told me I would be treated there again for the coronavirus,” she complained.
“Conditions for discharge include three days of normal body temperature, an absence of respiratory problems, and a significant improvement in the chest lesions which are a feature of the disease. Patients must also test negative in two consecutive PCR tests — the swab technique which identifies any remaining genetic material of the virus — conducted at least one day apart,” the SCMP noted.
Although Chinese doctors have said retesting positive is extremely rare, officials in one Chinese province estimated that 14 percent of patients tested positive again after they were discharged. Jiang said growing awareness of these positive retests is producing discrimination against recovered coronavirus patients, especially those from Hubei. Such feelings are said to have caused a clash between police and citizens of Hubei and neighboring Jiangxi province last week.
Chinese dictator Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that local government agencies need to “enhance the management of asymptomatic carriers,” meaning people like Jiang who test positive without displaying visible signs of illness.
The Chinese government claims there are only 1,367 asymptomatic carriers currently in the country, but the Epoch Times noted travel restrictions were lifted by Hubei province on March 25, permitting anyone who earned a “green” health code to travel freely. At least three million people traveled out of the province over the following week. Several other provinces have imposed their own rules requiring visitors from Hubei to be quarantined until they pass at least two tests for the coronavirus.
China: Some 'Cleared' Coronavirus Patients Test Positive Three Times
China's rush to reduce coronavirus patient totals sends some people into the street only to test positive again in a matter of days.www.breitbart.com
Small Wars Journal
@smallwars
11m
Stars & Stripes - Pentagon Orders Troops to Wear Masks When They Can’t Meet ‘Social Distancing’ Standards
https://twitter.com/smallwars/status/1246997699775336454?s=20
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Pentagon orders troops to wear masks when they can’t meet ‘social distancing’ standards
A parachute rigger with 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Group Support Battalion sews surgical masks for medical patients at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on March 31, 2020.
JOE PARRISH/U.S. ARMY
By JOHN VANDIVER | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 5, 2020
STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. troops worldwide must wear masks, and sew their own if necessary, if they cannot maintain “social distancing” standards to protect against the coronavirus, the Pentagon announced Sunday.
The directive follows a sharp rise in coronavirus infections in the ranks and concerns about the ability to maintain 6-foot social distancing, especially aboard ships and aircraft.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the directive applies to all personnel: troops, family members, military civilians and contractors.
“Effective immediately, to the extent practical, all individuals on DoD property, installations, and facilities will wear cloth face coverings when they cannot maintain six feet of social distance in public areas or work centers,” Esper said in a message to the force.
Pentagon orders troops to wear masks when they can’t meet ‘social distancing’ standards
U.S. troops worldwide must wear masks, and sew their own if necessary, if they cannot maintain social distancing standards to protect against the coronavirus, the Pentagon announced Sunday.www.stripes.com
Look at CA reported tests. Seriously?
California | 15,180 | +143 | 348 | +1 | 13,932 | 388 | 9 | 116,533 | 2,977 |
EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
45s
Rikers Island inmate dies of complications from coronavirus https://nypost.com/2020/04/05/rikers-island-inmate-with-coronavirus-dies/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons
via
@nypmetro
**********************************
Rikers Island inmate dies of complications from coronavirus
By Larry Celona and Tamar Lapin
April 5, 2020 | 10:46pm
Enlarge Image
Christopher Sadowski
More On:
Coronavirus in NY
NYC restaurants feeding health workers on front lines of coronavirus fight
NY's restaurants, and America's, need to hold on until the lockdowns end
Time to start figuring out which businesses can reopen first and how
FDNY firefighters come together to thank hospital workers — with candy
An inmate from Rikers Island who tested positive for the coronavirus died in a Manhattan hospital on Sunday, jail officials said.
The 53-year-old man was transferred from the sprawling jail facility to Bellevue Hospital on March 26 and eventually died there, according to Department of Correction spokesperson Peter Thorne.
He’d been at the lock up since Feb. 28, according to The New York Times, which first reported his death.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the detainee’s family in their time of grief,” Thorne said in a statement. “The safety and well-being of those in our custody remains our number one priority.”
At least 273 inmates at city jails and 321 correction staffers had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday, the department said. Four Correction employees have died from the disease.
DOC does not clarify which of its facilities were affected but the vast majority of inmates are locked up on Rikers Island.
Since the coronavirus outbreak hit Rikers in mid-March, the city has released at least 200 inmates from jail facilities.
City officials, defense attorneys and prosecutors have been working to identify prisoners who could be moved from jail to house arrest while they await trial.
The Legal Aid Society last month filed four lawsuits to get some of its clients out of Rikers and to win freedom for juvenile detainees.
Over? This is a world wide pandemic. It won't be over for a long long time. Even if you "burn it out" locally, the modern economy involves travel. They can try containment, quarantine and strict contact tracing, but we have leaky borders so that will never be enough unless they set it up like China with constant control and monitoring of everyone's health status and movement.Clay Travis
@ClayTravis
University of Washington just updated their model. Now shows the coronavirus outbreak over much sooner. Projected total deaths down to 80k.
View: https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1247014452047810561?s=20
COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing through May 2020
Last updated April 5, 2020.
FAQ | Update Notes | Article
United States of America
Hospital resource use
9days
until peak resource use on
April 15, 2020
Resources needed for COVID-19 patients on peak date
All beds needed
140,823beds
Bed shortage
36,654beds
ICU beds needed
29,210beds
ICU bed shortage
16,323beds
Invasive ventilators needed
24,828ventilators
All resourcesAll bedsICU bedsInvasive ventilators
020k40k60k80k100k120k140k160k180k200k220k240k260k280k300kResource countMar 01Apr 01May 01Jun 01Jul 01Aug 01Date
All beds needed (projected)
ICU beds needed (projected)
Invasive ventilators needed (projected)
Shaded areas indicate uncertainty
Deaths per day
10days
until projected peak in daily deaths
3,130COVID-19 deaths
projected on April 16, 2020
01k2k3k4k5k6k7k8k9kDeaths per dayMar 01Apr 01May 01Jun 01Jul 01Aug 01Date
Deaths per day
Deaths per day (projected)
Shaded area indicates uncertainty
Total deaths
81,766COVID-19 deaths
projected by August 4, 2020
010k20k30k40k50k60k70k80k90k100k110k120k130k140kTotal deathsMar 01Apr 01May 01Jun 01Jul 01Aug 01Date
Total deaths
Total deaths (projected)
Shaded area indicates uncertainty
Download the results (version 2020_04_05.05.us).
Over? This is a world wide pandemic. It won't be over for a long long time. Even if you "burn it out" locally, the modern economy involves travel. They can try containment, quarantine and strict contact tracing, but we have leaky borders so that will never be enough unless they set it up like China with constant control and monitoring of everyone's health status and movement.
Agreed. The 1918 Pandemic took 18-24 months to burn itself out across the world. I'd be surprised if it doesn't take the same amount of time, with successive waves of infection for the reasons Marsh said above. There is an MIT study that posited 18 months with a pattern of 2 months of stay at home, one month or so off, then again locking down as the rate of infection climbed again. The game changers would be finding effective medicines, more antibody and more antigen testing so we know who has it or has had it, getting those people who have recovered back to work (providing that people really are immune- we don't know that yet), hopefully an effective vaccine (there still isn't one for SARS), and keeping the level of infected hospitalized people to levels hospitals can handle.Well said, marsh!!! Best statement yet, concerning length of COVID-19!!!
Thanks!
OA
Agreed. The 1918 Pandemic took 18-24 months to burn itself out across the world. I'd be surprised if it doesn't take the same amount of time, with successive waves of infection for the reasons Marsh said above. There is an MIT study that posited 18 months with a pattern of 2 months of stay at home, one month or so off, then again locking down as the rate of infection climbed again. The game changers would be finding effective medicines, more antibody and more antigen testing so we know who has it or has had it, getting those people who have recovered back to work (providing that people really are immune- we don't know that yet), hopefully an effective vaccine (there still isn't one for SARS), and keeping the level of infected hospitalized people to levels hospitals can handle.
I have been following that ex pat who left China with his family and then,recently, returned. They were given a red bar code on their cell phones and quarantined separately in a hotel for 14 days after arriving in China. Then, when they were cleared with daily testing and temperatures, the bar code on their phones turned green.Will the badge be in the shape of a Star of David and have "Juden" printed on it? Is Gattaca next? Scary stuff.
There is video at the link in the article. He actually comes out and says this.
Fair use.
Ghoulish: St. Louis Federal Reserve Head Says Americans Should Be Tested for COVID-19 Daily And Forced To Display a Badge on Their Clothing with the Result
By Brock Simmons
Published April 5, 2020 at 10:22pm
In an era when the government is using cell phone data to track our movements, drones to enforce compliance of lockdown orders, thermal imaging to monitor social distancing, pastors are getting arrested for hosting church, and ankle bracelets to ensure people stay quarantined, a Federal Reserve official proposed today yet another surveillance plan; daily coronavirus testing for every citizen, and we publicly display badges showing if we tested negative or positive.
James Bullard, CEO of the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve, was recently on CBS’s Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan to talk about the state of the economy and what could be done to stem the outbreak of the virus. Toward the end of the interview, Bullard says,
“You know, I have good news for you, MARGARET, because we have a- there is a solution using available technology today to fix the economic part of this problem. The solution is universal testing. What you want is every single person to get tested every day. And then they would wear a badge like they would at a- after they voted or something like that to show that they’ve been tested. This would immediately sort out who’s been infected and who hasn’t been infected. That would help the health care sector. But it would also help the economy because we could interact with each other with a lot of confidence.”
Here he is on video saying it, with Brennan’s question leading in around the 5:30 mark (apparently the video production technicians at CBS couldn’t figure out how to get the volume right, so you’ll have to turn it up a bit):
Former FDA commission Scott Gottlieb also appeared on the show and spoke about how we need “massive surveillance system” to combat the virus.
What’s next? Will they suggest that maybe those who are infected wear a badge that happens to be a yellow star? You know, to identify the undesirables.
The left has spent the last 4 years accusing Trump of being a xenophobic white nationalist neo-nazi. Now they are complaining that he hasn’t closed the borders quick enough, hasn’t declared martial law quick enough, and hasn’t suspended the Constitution yet.
Link to source:
Ghoulish: St. Louis Federal Reserve Head Says Americans Should Be Tested for COVID-19 Daily And Forced To Display a Badge on Their Clothing with the Result | The Gateway Pundit | by Brock Simmons
In an era when the government is using cell phone data to track our movements, drones to enforce compliance of lockdown orders, thermal imaging to monitor social distancing, pastors are getting arrested for hosting church, and ankle bracelets to ensure people stay quarantined, a Federal Reserve...www.thegatewaypundit.com
https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/ghoulish-st-louis-federal-reserve-head-says-americans-tested-covid-19-daily-forced-display-badge-clothing-result/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=PostTopSharingButtons&utm_campaign=websitesharingbuttons&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button
Their tests were only 30% true, as I recall. They could have had two false negatives when they originally cleared or false positives now. Were they serology (blood) tests or presence absence in throat and feces?
This is probably the truth and again if there’s no miracle discovery or miracle vaccine we’re going to live with wave after wave of this infection for the next 18 to 24 months.Agreed. The 1918 Pandemic took 18-24 months to burn itself out across the world. I'd be surprised if it doesn't take the same amount of time, with successive waves of infection for the reasons Marsh said above. There is an MIT study that posited 18 months with a pattern of 2 months of stay at home, one month or so off, then again locking down as the rate of infection climbed again. The game changers would be finding effective medicines, more antibody and more antigen testing so we know who has it or has had it, getting those people who have recovered back to work (providing that people really are immune- we don't know that yet), hopefully an effective vaccine (there still isn't one for SARS), and keeping the level of infected hospitalized people to levels hospitals can handle.
Sooo... people who are really sick with symptoms indicative of COVID can't get tested unless they are bad enough to need hospitalization, but this asshat thinks we have enough tests to test 330 MILLION people every day?!!Will the badge be in the shape of a Star of David and have "Juden" printed on it? Is Gattaca next? Scary. File under: stuff you can't make up. I have to wonder if he even considered the optics before he opened his mouth?
There is video at the link in the article. He actually comes out and says this.
Fair use.
Ghoulish: St. Louis Federal Reserve Head Says Americans Should Be Tested for COVID-19 Daily And Forced To Display a Badge on Their Clothing with the Result
By Brock Simmons
Published April 5, 2020 at 10:22pm
In an era when the government is using cell phone data to track our movements, drones to enforce compliance of lockdown orders, thermal imaging to monitor social distancing, pastors are getting arrested for hosting church, and ankle bracelets to ensure people stay quarantined, a Federal Reserve official proposed today yet another surveillance plan; daily coronavirus testing for every citizen, and we publicly display badges showing if we tested negative or positive.
James Bullard, CEO of the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve, was recently on CBS’s Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan to talk about the state of the economy and what could be done to stem the outbreak of the virus. Toward the end of the interview, Bullard says,
“You know, I have good news for you, MARGARET, because we have a- there is a solution using available technology today to fix the economic part of this problem. The solution is universal testing. What you want is every single person to get tested every day. And then they would wear a badge like they would at a- after they voted or something like that to show that they’ve been tested. This would immediately sort out who’s been infected and who hasn’t been infected. That would help the health care sector. But it would also help the economy because we could interact with each other with a lot of confidence.”
Here he is on video saying it, with Brennan’s question leading in around the 5:30 mark (apparently the video production technicians at CBS couldn’t figure out how to get the volume right, so you’ll have to turn it up a bit):
Former FDA commission Scott Gottlieb also appeared on the show and spoke about how we need “massive surveillance system” to combat the virus.
What’s next? Will they suggest that maybe those who are infected wear a badge that happens to be a yellow star? You know, to identify the undesirables.
The left has spent the last 4 years accusing Trump of being a xenophobic white nationalist neo-nazi. Now they are complaining that he hasn’t closed the borders quick enough, hasn’t declared martial law quick enough, and hasn’t suspended the Constitution yet.
Link to source:
Ghoulish: St. Louis Federal Reserve Head Says Americans Should Be Tested for COVID-19 Daily And Forced To Display a Badge on Their Clothing with the Result | The Gateway Pundit | by Brock Simmons
In an era when the government is using cell phone data to track our movements, drones to enforce compliance of lockdown orders, thermal imaging to monitor social distancing, pastors are getting arrested for hosting church, and ankle bracelets to ensure people stay quarantined, a Federal Reserve...www.thegatewaypundit.com
Maybe it's as simple as it's always been- those who are out in the fresh air and sunshine fare better. Or the East coast is less healthy. I'm guessing they do smoke more than the west coast, eh?
Coronavirus: Pastor who decried 'hysteria' dies after attending Mardi Gras
Pastor Landon Spradlin wasn't worried about coronavirus when he went to New Orleans to preach during Mardi Gras. A month later he was dead.
"He loved to laugh. He loved to play guitar. He played guitar even when he wasn't supposed to," says Jesse Spradlin of her father, Landon.
"He was just the best man in the world."
One day when this is all over, the wife and five children of Pastor Landon Spradlin hope to hold a large celebratory memorial for him.
For now they have had to make do with a funeral at which there were just a handful in attendance, including the blues guitarist who played at the graveside.
A little over a month ago, Pastor Spradlin, who was 66, drove with his wife Jean the 900 miles (1500 km) from their home in Virginia to Louisiana for Mardi Gras.
He viewed the festivities as an opportunity, through music, to save the souls of some of the hundreds of thousands of people that would attend.
He was joined by two of his daughters who came over from Texas.
"His mission was to go into pubs, clubs and bars, play the blues and connect with musicians and just tell them that Jesus loved them," says Jesse Spradlin, 28.
"Mardi Gras is like Times Square in New York during New Year's Eve. It's a sea of people just drinking and partying," she says. "He was loud and laughing and in his element."
Over recent years Pastor Spradlin had realised a dream of using the preaching he had honed in churches across three states and taking it to the streets through the medium he loved.
He had been playing instruments since the age of four and in 2016 was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, but it was religion that he felt had saved him from alcoholism and drug addiction in his twenties.
Those dark years are why he now had a particular affinity for those who felt down and out, something he could relate to.
At Mardi Gras, the family band played in New Orleans' busy Jackson Square, unaware of the threat they faced.
"I don't even remember us talking about the virus," says Naomi Spradlin, 26. "With what's happened we keep looking back, and we didn't talk about it once."
They were not the only ones. Even though it had been more than a month since the first coronavirus case in the US, Mardi Gras went on as planned.
Officials in the city now blame government inaction for what appears to have been a large spike in cases that followed.
Pastor Spradlin was one of those who became ill, but tested negative for Covid-19. Even as he was sick, he posted on social media about "hysteria" surrounding the virus.
On the 13th of March Pastor Spradlin shared on Facebook a misleading post comparing swine flu and coronavirus deaths.
It suggested that Barack Obama and Donald Trump respectively had been treated very differently by the media and that it was a politically motivated ploy to harm President Trump.
Earlier the very same day, the president himself had insinuated something very similar at a news conference.
Pastor Spradlin's son, Landon Isaac, 32, told me that he and his father had talked and agreed about what they felt was an irrational frenzy and fear mongering about the virus, perhaps because it was an election year.
"I want to say outright though, dad didn't think it was a hoax, he knew it was a real virus," says Landon Isaac.
"But he did put up that post because he was frustrated that the media was propagating fear as the main mode of communication," he told me.
By mid-March though, Pastor Spradlin's health suddenly took a turn for the worse. He and his wife decided to make the long drive back from New Orleans to their home in Virginia.
"I spoke to him five minutes before he collapsed in North Carolina," says Landon Isaac.
"I could tell his breathing was getting bad. And I just said that you've got to get home. But he didn't make it."
Pastor Spradlin was taken to hospital in North Carolina where they discovered he had developed pneumonia in both lungs and he now also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Coronavirus: Pastor who decried 'hysteria' dies after attending Mardi Gras
A preacher who said coronavirus was overhyped has died after catching the virus at Mardi Gras.sports.yahoo.com
Talk about judgement... What are you doing to help alleviate the problem other than sitting in judgement on TB2K?Are you taking into account those who are financially unable to procure additional food and meds? Subsistance living is actual, here in the USA... I know people that have two regular jobs, as well as an additional part time job, in order to maintain in "good" times. What happens when their work places close, they are laid off, or they're fired? What about those with sudden, unexpected medical conditions, or those whose status must be upgraded?
Perhaps you need to have your eyes open, ask God for compassion, and be not so damned eager to judge... God news for you. You're NOT God!!!
Get over yourself...
OA
Washington Examiner
@dcexaminer
42m
"I made it." A 104-year-old World War II veteran has become the oldest known survivor of the coronavirus outbreak after he defeated the disease in time for his birthday.
View: https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1246996287624556550?s=20
Help with COVID-19 patients or lose job, Beaumont Health says
Sarah Rahal and Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News
Beaumont Health, the state's largest health care system, informed employees on Friday that anyone who refuses a transfer to work with COVID-19 patients will be considered to have resigned and ineligible for future employment.
The policy, obtained by The Detroit News, provides exceptions for those with underlying conditions, and comes amid increasing angst in Metro Detroit hospital systems that are reaching capacity in the face of the nation's third largest outbreak of the coronavirus.
Adding to the stress is the news of deaths and hospitalizations of colleagues and concerns over shortages of protective equipment. A resident surgeon at Ascension Macomb Hospital died this weekend of suspected COVID-19 and a longtime Henry Ford Health System nurse died in her home last week after telling relatives she had been exposed when at work without proper protection.
"There has not been a time, in my lifetime, of so much of angst and tension in the healthcare community," said Dr. Richard Balon, program director for the psychiatry residency at Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University, where he also is a professor of psychiatry and anesthesiology. "We are facing an additional crisis - mental health issues in healthcare workers due to this enormous pressure, tension, push for making difficult decisions, feelings of lack of support, lack of protection, long hours, not being with their families, worry about endangering their families by bringing the infection home."
Medical professionals and administrators say many in the healthcare community are rising to the challenge and even volunteering for crucial roles, including at Beaumont, where 50 retired nurses returned to work to assist.
Beaumont's policy reflects the stress of a system loaded with patients and encourages managers to make reasonable accommodations for staff with medical conditions.
“At the end of the day, we have patients to take care of and we need to redeploy our staff,” said Aaron Gillingham, Beaumont’s senior vice president and chief human resources officer. By and large, employees have been “operating at their absolute best,” he said.
But there have been concerns expressed by employees nervous about working with COVID-19 patients, he said, that could compromise the hospital system’s ability to meet the demands of the crisis. The policy was put together to address that problem, he said.
The hospital system also is working to secure accommodations at hotels or other locations for individuals who cannot return home to a loved one with a compromised immune system.
The stresses at area hospitals prompted Beaumont CEO John Fox to say Sunday that Michigan "needs to collect accurate, real-time data from all hospitals across Michigan and share it in an open and transparent way, just as we have been doing at Beaumont Health.”
“We have been advocating for this both publicly and behind the scenes," Fox said. "This is an unprecedented situation. Faster action is needed to ensure we can care for the influx of COVID-19 patients over the next few weeks and months, in addition to those we serve who need emergency or trauma care, have heart attacks, give birth or need other truly emergent medical services.”
Help with COVID-19 patients or lose job, Beaumont Health says
The policy is issued as Michigan largest health systems struggle to find enough resources in the nation's third hardest-hit state.www.detroitnews.com