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Hospital employees across the country have been blocked from wearing surgical masks in certain situations to protect against infection by the new coronavirus — including those they bring to work themselves. Workers at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have been told not to wear face masks unless they have lingering respiratory symptoms after an illness, are under surveillance following COVID-19 exposure or are treating patients showing signs of COVID-19.
The restriction on wearing masks comes amid widespread shortages of personal protective equipment for health workers and confusion over shifting guidelines from federal officials.
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With the latest order from the governor’s office asking all New Mexicans to stay home except for issues of health and safety - like grocery shopping or going to a doctor - victims of domestic violence may be stuck in their homes, too, with their abusers. “This is probably an abuser’s dream,” said Jessica Fierro, a victim advocacy unit director for the Domestic Violence Resource Center in Albuquerque.
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Doña Ana county’s positive COVID-19 cases have jumped into the double digits -- now at 13 -- the third largest total after Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties. Las Cruces, the largest metropolitan area in Doña Ana county and southern New Mexico, has yet to declare a public emergency, however.
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This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica. New Mexico In Depth is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.
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Frontline clinicians in Albuquerque -- the hospital workers most likely to come into direct contact with contagious patients -- face rationing of personal protective equipment, or PPE, and are not being tested for COVID-19 unless they start to show symptoms, hospital officials and state officials have confirmed.
So far, nine patients have been hospitalized in New Mexico, including one Arizona resident, the governor said Monday.
But hospitals are preparing for many more. Presbyterian hospitals in Albuquerque and elsewhere in the state are setting up outdoor triage and intake tents, for example.
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New Mexico is experiencing community transmission of COVID-19.
Seventy of 83 cases the state had identified as of Monday involved travel-related transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. That means the person acquired it while traveling, or came into contact with someone who travelled.
But 13 are community-acquired, which is more worrisome to public health experts.
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This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica. New Mexico In Depth is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.
