Across the Bay Area, nurses are holding a "day of action" demanding that hospitals hire more medical workers to help deal with the omicron surge.
At the Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, nurses held up signs that read "Staff Up!" Stacey Eddie, a registered nurse who works in the emergency room, said they are understaffed across the hospital.
"We are working extra hours, we are going without breaks for 12-hour shifts because there is no extra staff to relieve us," Eddie told KCBS Radio.
The California Nurses Association also used the demonstrations to condemn a recent policy change by the state health department, that allows asymptomatic workers who test positive for COVID-19 to return to work immediately without isolation or further testing.
Eddie said some of her colleagues are getting sick during the current COVID-19 surge, which means there are fewer nurses to care for a growing number of patients.
"We are doing it and we are getting by, but should we? It's unsafe, hire more nurses, keep us safe, keep the patients safe," she said.
In a statement provided to KCBS Radio, Kaiser Permanente said the safety of their members and employees remains a top priority. It stated they have hired hundreds of nurses in recent months and will be bringing in experienced temporary staff to help combat the current surge of the coronavirus.
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