Harlem Nurses Allowed To Work With Coronavirus Symptoms: Report

HARLEM, NY — Nurses at city-run Harlem Hospital are allowed to work and see patients while experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, according to reports.

Nurses suffering symptoms of the deadly virus are given seven days off after reporting their sickness to hospital officials, Harlem Hospital nurses told the New York Daily News. Some nurses are returning to the hospital after the seven-day hiatus while still experiencing symptoms, according to the report.

Hospital officials told the Daily News that workers who are sick must isolate for seven days and must be fever-free for 72 hours before returning to work. Representatives from the New York State Nurses Association said that the policy goes against international standards that recommend 14 days of isolation for anyone who experiences coronavirus symptoms.

The policy isn't the only grievance Harlem Hospital nurses have gone public with in recent days. Nurses and other healthcare workers held a rally in front of the New York Health & Hospitals facility on Tuesday to demand administrators end the practice of rationing personal protective equipment. Signs held by workers during the rally bore messages such as "patients over profits," and "respect public hospital nurses & our patients."

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Read the full New York Daily News report here.