Nurses Union: "Unequivocally Opposed" to RI's Decision to Allow COVID Positive to Return to Work

Nurses Union: "Unequivocally Opposed" to RI's Decision to Allow COVID Positive to Return to Work

United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) President Lynn Blais has issued a harsh statement against the state’s decision to allow COVID positive workers into hospitals.

Blais, a nurse who heads the state’s largest healthcare union representing more than 7,000 nurses and health professionals, is blasting the newly implemented policy that allows health care workers who are COVID positive to return to work in our state’s hospitals in crisis situations.  

“[UNAP] is unequivocally opposed to the state’s decision allowing COVID-19 positive health care workers to work in Rhode Island health care facilities. First and foremost, we believe that it's critically important to ensure a healthy workforce in which health care workers are not spreading the virus to other workers and, more importantly, to at-risk patients who are susceptible to the most harmful effects of the virus. Second, this policy will likely come with the unintended consequence of exacerbating staffing shortages when more workers in hospitals become infected with COVID-19, get sick, and are forced to quarantine," said Blais.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

"[UNAP] believes that only health care workers who are asymptomatic, have a negative test, and continue to wear a mask should be returning to the workforce after 5 days. Lastly, we again urge all Rhode Islanders to get vaccinated and boosted if they haven’t already. This is the one proven solution to limit hospitalizations and the resulting staffing issues that these hospitalizations create, and most importantly prevent avoidable death and suffering,” she added.