We are 32 days from our first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Connecticut.
We have 7,781 confirmed cases, up 875 from yesterday
277 deaths, up 71
1308 currently hospitalized, up 87
29,036 tested positive, up 2,350
Today Martha from the VNA and Ann-Marie from Manchester joined me and our sisters and brothers of SEIU for a roundtable discussion/ press conference and Senator Blumenthal this morning (link below) Unfortunately the beginning of the Video is messed up so you miss what Senator Blumenthal says, but it starts in time to catch some of my remarks and all of Ann-Marie and Martha. Sen Blumenthal expressed thanks to you all and pledged support, especially for an emergency OSHA standard to protect you in the workplace. An OSHA “standard” is comparable to a law or regulation. It is enforceable. Currently there is an OSHA guideline.
“During N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) shortages, the federal government advises that specific N95 FFRs that are beyond their manufacturer’s recommended shelf life will provide greater protection than surgical masks (i.e., facemasks, other than surgical N95s; see below) or non-NIOSH-approved masks (e.g., homemade masks or improvised mouth and nose covers, such as bandanas).”
WATCH On-Demand: Virtual Roundtable with U.S. Sen. Blumenthal and the SEIU Connecticut State Council on the Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) ct-n.com/ctnplayer.asp?…
Both Backus and Windham Locals have filed OSHA complaint on two different N95 issues. This will trigger OSHA looking into the complaint.
Today our first VNA nurse tested positive and 2 others on her team are awaiting test results. The incident form asks which patient was the source of exposure - we don't know as they are not testing those that aren't sick enough to be hospitalized. We suspect that there are positive patients that are not being tested and we are being sent to homes with a level 1 mask and our patients and their families are not required to wear anything to protect us. We are in the fight with management over this. One nurse that was tested was unable to get the rest of her family who are also symptomatic and the son has asthma tested and was told via phone that they would all be presumed positive. So what do our numbers that we report daily really mean - nothing because we are not testing people. The VNA employees are on a different front line than hospital workers.
Ann Ryan President AFT 5119
Advice from legal:
While I do not know exactly what the incident report asks, I suggest any of your members who gets diagnosed with the virus indicate “repeated exposure.” The member can list every instance where they visited/treated a patient that may have been positive. The member may also choose to reference every incident they treated without the requisite PPE.
If listing every interaction is not practical, another suggestion is to list a time period. For instance: “From March 30, 2020 to April 3, 2020 treated and interacted with 12 patients. Patients were not wearing any masks or other means of preventing transmission of virus. I was diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 5, 2020.”
Be sure to share this same information with any and all treating physicians who the member treats with.
Be sure to also have your member complete the Form 30C, which will likely include similar information.
Lastly, do not listen to anyone who tells you that you, your member, or anyone else needs to pinpoint which patient they contracted the virus from. Anyone who states this is just plain wrong. No one other than the Workers’ Compensation Commission gets to determine who is and who is not eligible for WC benefits.
From Kelly at AFT
Require Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Illness Resulting from COVID-19 Exposure at Work
The Hospital Association actively lobbied to block OSHA protections for healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19. Now we are hearing examples of hospitals challenging healthcare workers claims to workers’ compensation benefits when they contract COVID-19 at work.
As this piece details, a UC Davis RN had her workers’ compensation claim challenged by her employer after she contracted COVID-19 while caring for a patient. A bill on its way to the Governor in Alaska would address this by ensuring that there is a presumption of eligibility for workers’ compensation for first responders and healthcare workers, who are at a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19, when they contract the illness and make a claim for coverage for missed work.
The firefighter unions worked hard to enact state legislation around presumption of employment cause for lung injuries and illnesses for workers compensation eligibility pre-COVID, and now they are demanding action on COVID-19 in Minnesota. A bill in Ohio would add COVID-19 to a list of illness for which there is a presumption of employment cause for workers' compensation filings for peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers. The Ohio Nurses Association is advocating for a similar presumption for Nurses. The attached Executive Order proposal from AFT-Connecticut is another good model for states that would provide a presumption of eligibility for first responders and hospital workers.
In Florida, the state’s Chief Financial Officer has directed the Division of Risk Management to process workers’ compensation claims for a longer list of public employees who contract COVID-19 on the job, including correctional officers and child safety investigators. The list of workers who are at risk of exposure to COVID-19 at work is long and workers don’t have the PPE they need to avoid exposure. A presumption of employment cause for workers' compensation filings is something states should extend to all essential staff.
Tuesday TTH with the Surgeon General will join Randi on Tuesday for AFT’s telephone town hall on April 7th at 7p.m. EDT
New resources on https://www.aft.org/coronavirus, including brand new pieces on infection prevention in childcare centers, rights and information for non-healthcare essential employees, and bargaining language re: PPE. Check out the section for Leaders to get MOUs and guidance related to essential personnel
1- The health and safety of our members, communities and students
HELP US. SIGN AND PROMOTE THE AFT/PPE PETITION, which calls on the administration to act now.
COVID-19 related school closures have impacted at least U.S. public and private schools and affected at least 55.1 million students. (Education Week)
New Mental Health Resource: See our new resource, Helpful Information and Tips for Dealing with COVID-19, developed with the Anxiety and Depression Association of America
AFT Affiliates and Members continue serving our communities:
- Our members in Dallas public schools prepare about 10K meals per day See more here and photo below.
- UUP members at SUNY Polytechnic Institute use special design and 3D printer to make face shields for healthcare workers. Times Union article and photo below.
- Toledo Federation of Teachers packed food for weekend take-home meals for kids that come to the Connecting Kids to Meals. Their goal is to pack 800 meals for these students and their families. See more here and photos below.
- Harlem Federation of Teachers showed support to both their students and local businesses by purchasing chicken dinners from a local business. Families were then invited to pick up a meal curbside for free. See more here.
2- The health and safety of first responders, nurses and healthcare workers who are on the front line
AFT affiliates leading and promoting PPE community-focused donation efforts, like efforts in HPAE’s announcement with New Jersey with State Troopers Fraternal Organization. Decontamination for reuse of PPE has been on the minds of many healthcare workers who are being forced to reuse PPE. See our new resource on this topic.
CONTINUE to PROMOTE the AFT/PPE Petition. We must continue to push Trump to fully invoke the Defense Production Act and employ all measures necessary to close the gap in PPE shortages in healthcare settings.
Randi and our healthcare leaders and members continue to speak out, here are a couple highlights:
- Randi joined with Obama Administration healthcare policy lead Andy Slavitt, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal and AFT healthcare Member Rick Lucas to participate in a MoveOn panel discussion titled “How to Proceed & Protect One Another in the Age of Coronavirus.” Watch the event here.
- CNN’s Anderson Cooper Interviews AFT VT President Deb Snell on PPE’s and how healthcare workers are fighting COVID-19. Watch here
Our L&M quad locals have formed a political action committee to meet with legislators over Covid Concerns. If you want to do this for your local I can put you in touch.
This is some evidence from AFT about the need for respiratory protection.
COVID-19 Resources:
Here is evidence to help you make your case for respiratory protection for members caring for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients
APRIL 3, 2020
Use this resource if the employer claims that COVID-19 is primarily spread through droplet and contact transmission and is not aerosolized.
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its infection control guidance, recommending facemasks instead of N95 respirators for those providing care to suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients, the agency justified the action based on concern about the supply and supply chains for N95 production. But the CDC also claimed without evidence that SARS- CoV-2 is also primarily spread via droplet and contact transmission. In seeming contradiction, the agency still recommends that workers use
N95 respirators when the supply chain issues are resolved.
Hospitals and other healthcare employers have been quick to use the argument that respiratory protection is not needed rather than finding other sources of respiratory protection, including other kinds of filtering face piece respirators (N99s, N100s, P100s, elastomerics) and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). Many employers have immediately moved from conventional capacity for providing healthcare workers with
respiratory protection to crisis capacity, denying it completely, putting healthcare workers’ health and ability to provide care in jeopardy.
Much has to be done to increase the production and supply of N95 respirators, including a faster release of the strategic national stocking and enactment of the Defense Production Act to promote immediate manufacture of respirators. Employers need to invest in reusable respirators.
If the employer is claiming that respirators are not needed as per the CDC, there is growing evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 is aerosolized over short distances and persists for long periods of time. The traditional understanding of infectious disease transmission (contact, droplet and airborne) is 70 years old. There is a growing body of research indicating that many viruses, including coronaviruses, are aerosolized when an infected person speaks and exhales. Surgical masks only protect the wearer from droplets caused by coughs and sneezes.
Be safe my friends,
John
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