Coronavirus: Nurses ordered to leave hospital after protesting work conditions as Michigan officials order portable morgues

Nurses at a Detroit hospital were instructed to leave their emergency room as it grappled with a surge in Covid-19 patients during the weekend, after they reportedly protested unsafe conditions and staged a “work stoppage".

Sal Hadwan, an emergency room nurse at Sinai-Grace Hospital and one of the staff members who participated in the protest, described Sunday night as “the breaking point” for he and his colleagues in a livestream video posted to Facebook.

“We cannot safely take care of your loved ones out here with just six, seven nurses and multiple [ventilators] and multiple people on drips. It’s not right,” he said. “We had two nurses the other day who had 26 patients with 10 [ventilators].”

Medical workers at the hospital confirmed the demonstration took place to CNN, saying they were told to leave the facilities that night if they refused to work in the emergency room, after four hours of deliberations with hospital administrators.

Several staff members who stopped working and were protesting in the break room then reportedly left the hospital.

Jason Barczy, a communications manager for Sinai-Grace Hospital, said administrators were “disappointed” after the group of nurses “staged a work stoppage in the hospital refusing to care for patients” in a statement.

Mr Barcy told CNN patients “continued to receive the care they needed as other dedicated nurses stepped in” amid the protest.

“We know this is a very challenging time for caregivers,” he added. “Our doctors and nurses continue to demonstrate their commitment and dedication to our patients."

Michigan has quickly become one of the unfolding epicentres throughout the United States of the coronavirus pandemic, with nearly 20,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday and at least 845 deaths. Officials say the true figures in each state are likely far higher due to a lack of nationwide testing for Covid-19.

In Wayne county, where at least 3,569 coronavirus cases have been confirmed, officials reportedly ordered at least four portable refrigeration units to make additional space for the dead. A county spokesperson said the region has added enough storage capacity

The surge of patients has led many hospital systems to reach or near their capacity, as state officials implement stay-at-home orders in an effort to “slow the spread” by reducing the rate of transmissions of the novel virus.

Michigan Nurses Association President Jamie Brown said there was only so much a medical worker could do before “a tipping point is reached where the best thing any [resident nurse] can do for their patients, their families and their coworkers is to speak out rather than remain silent” in a statement to CNN.

“Until hospitals start taking the concerns of nurses seriously,” Mr Brown added, “it's only a matter of time before more actions like these occur. It is absolutely essential that hospitals start working with nurses and stop silencing our voices.”