Coronavirus Update: Montefiore Hospital Nurses Protest Lack Of Protective Equipment, Say They Feel Like 'Sheep Going To Slaughter'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – New York State now has more than 83,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 1,900 deaths.
New York City has quickly become the epicenter of the pandemic. There are 45,000 cases, and 278 people died just Wednesday alone.
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Officials are taking drastic measures to try and stop the spread, while they warn they're running out of supplies and hospital beds.
There was a show of solidarity at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx on Thursday as nurses stood together while six feet apart, demanding critical protective equipment.
"We do not have the armor to protect ourselves or to protect the public from this enemy," one nurse said.
The unsung heroes of the battle against COVID-19 made a public plea for more PPEs.
"I'm frightened to go to work. I've never been frightened in 33 years as a nurse," nurse Denise Donlon told CBS2's Tara Jakeway.
Donlon has worked in the procedural department at Montefiore Hospital for more than three decades. Last week, she voluntarily stepped back into the ICU.
"What I saw was war, literally war, I am not exaggerating," Donlon said.
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She's forced to wear the same mask, gloves and gown for a 12-hour shift.
"We need protective equipment and we need it now," Donlon said.
Her husband is a New York City firefighter.
"My kids have two parents, both parents putting their lives on the line every day," she said.
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"Some hospitals have more supplies than they are using. We're saying don't hoard supplies. Let's put all the supplies in a central stock pile," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The governor said in his daily briefing that each night, the state will now review each hospital's inventory and disperse the supplies on a need basis -- a collective cache he's asking local businesses to contribute to.
"If you have the capacity to make these products, we will purchase them and we will pay a premium," Cuomo said.
Laura, a 28-year-old third-year resident at Montefiore, is down to one mask and one gown. She's been thrown into the belly of the beast.
"Every day when I go to work, I feel like a sheep going to slaughter," she said.
Laura, who is 28 years old, is just one of the many nurses who have started working on their last will and testament.
Dozens of health care workers also rallied Saturday at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, saying management offered limited supplies and asked nurses to reuse their masks for an entire week.