Coronavirus crisis news, USA

This 7 April 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

Healthcare Workers Punished For Challenging ‘Profit Over People‘ Management

The US medical system’s drive to maximize profit has always been at the cost of public health, and amplifies the danger healthcare workers and their patients face from COVID-19.

Mounting anger among US healthcare workers as watchdog warns of “severe” supply shortages. By Evan Blake, 7 April 2020. As the Department of Health and Human Services warned Monday of “severe” shortages of vital protective equipment throughout the country, healthcare workers are demanding safe working conditions and the provision of the equipment necessary to keep them safe while treating COVID-19 patients: here.

This 6 April 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

Donald Trump gets clobbered by a nurse. John Iadarola and Francesca Fiorentini react on The Damage Report.

US military calls for another $20 billion to counter China. By Peter Symonds, 7 April 2020. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, an Indo-Pacific Command report to the US Congress sets out plans for a further military build-up in the region directed against China.

The deadly consequences of the gutting of America’s public health infrastructure. By Gary Joad, 7 April 2020. Politicians and media pundits have accepted that mass sickness and death are the inevitable product of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This 6 April 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

Health Insurance Mafia Uses Covid To Hike Premiums Up To 40%

As a former health insurance exec, I don’t think any story better illustrates my old industry’s racket than the one I’m about to tell you: Right now, as we enter the worst public health crisis of our lifetimes (#COVID19), health insurers are still raking in record profits. (1/11)

— Wendell Potter (@wendellpotter) March 26, 2020

US hospitals raise prices, cut costs and lay off staff in midst of COVID-19 crisis. By Warren Duzak and Douglas Lyons, 7 April 2020. Funds to purchase necessary health equipment and increase operating capacity to battle the coronavirus will come from raising hospitals’ already extortionist rates for procedures, while cutting vital staff.

New Jersey hospitals cut staff as COVID-19 cases surge. By Erik Schreiber and Clara Weiss, 7 April 2020. On top of decade-long budget cuts to health care, a shortage of ventilators, PPE and hospital beds, the layoffs of medical workers will contribute to an increasing death toll.

At least 33 New York City transit workers dead as contagion spreads on buses and trains. By Daniel de Vries, 7 April 2020. Transit workers’ lives are being sacrificed while city and state officials refuse to provide workers and commuters protective gear or an alternative to packed buses and trains.

Workers on Facebook have reported that at least two UPS workers have died in the Chicago area from COVID-19, including Jerome Sutton, who left behind a wife and a young son. Neither management nor the Teamsters has confirmed these reports: here.

From the World Socialist Web Site, 7 April 2020:

Coronavirus infecting postal workers

Some 4,420 postal workers are under quarantine as a result of possible exposure to coronavirus, according to the United States Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). Already some 294 have tested positive for COVID-19 with 8 deaths. Postal workers nationwide are reporting a lack of protective equipment and cleaning supplies for its 630,000 workforce.

In an April 3 statement, Fredric Rolando, president of the NALC, said to union members, “USPS has committed to provide daily supplies necessary for postal employees to clean frequently touched items in the office as well as provide necessary supplies for letter carriers to use to clean steering wheels and other frequently touched surfaces in postal vehicles. … You should have sufficient hand sanitizer to keep your hands clean all day as you touch the many surfaces on your route.”

But letter carriers deny this to be the case and in another statement, Rolando admitted, “In some places, all of these things are being done. However, in too many places they are not.”

Irvine, California nurses protest lack of protective equipment

Over 50 nurses at the UCI Medical Center in Irvine, California staged a protest April 3 over management’s refusal to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and disciplinary measures against nurses who wear masks in areas where they are restricted. Nurses marched from the hospital to UCI Health administration facility to deliver a petition but were denied entry to deliver it.

“We’re here to fight,” Maria Louviaux, a UCI Health nurse, told CBSLA news. “Even just to wear our surgical mask throughout our shift, we have to fight for that, and unless nurses meet certain criteria, we aren’t allowed to wear masks. In fact, we are intimidated and on the verge of bullying at times by managers and directors.”

Nurses claim the hospital has N95 respirator masks, but they are kept locked up. According to a management statement, the hospital is “keeping PPE secure so they are available for health care workers who need it,” essentially barring nurses from their use.