Quarantined Minnesota health care workers feel pressure to return to work early

Health systems are pressuring staffs as new cases hit nearly 6,000

As COVID-19 cases in Minnesota continue to surge, some Minnesota hospitals and health care providers are asking employees with “higher-risk” exposure to the disease to return to work before their quarantines end.

The requests are forcing health care workers to choose between following the state guidance of quarantining for 14 days after virus exposure or going back to the job sooner than that. State officials say isolating for two weeks is highly recommended, but voluntary.

“The deck just seems stacked against us,” said Mary Turner, an intensive-care nurse at North Memorial Health Hospital and president of the Minnesota Nurses Association. Continue reading.