Nurses to Protest Outside White House to Demand Adequate Personal Protective Equipment

Nurses are set to protest outside the White House on Tuesday to demand adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) as they continue to fight on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.

National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the county, said its members will be protesting in front of the White House from 9.30 a.m. to "call attention to the tens of thousands of health care workers who have become infected with COVID-19" due to the lack of PPE.

In a press release, the union said protesters— who will be practicing social distancing—will read aloud the names of nurses who are known to have have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The union is calling for President Donald Trump to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to order the mass production of PPE, including N95 respirators, face shields, gowns, gloves and shoe coverings.

They are also calling for funding for the mass production of PPE to be provided in the next coronavirus stimulus package.

"With no federal health and safety standard, nurses and other health care workers in many hospitals across the country have not been provided with adequate PPE to protect them from exposure to the virus," NNU said in the release.

"Nurses point out that they require N95 respirators or a higher level or protection as well as other protective gear when taking care of patients who may be infected with COVID-19.

"With the failure of the Trump administration to protect health care workers, NNU is demanding that Congress include a mandatory OSHA emergency standard in its next COVID-19 legislative package."

The group added: "NNU is calling on Congress to mandate the DPA's use to produce the equipment and supplies health care workers need to care for COVID-19 patients as well as to conduct mass testing that is required to control the spread of the virus."

Trump invoked the DPA last month to ramp up the manufacturing of much-needed ventilators. He also recently said he would use it to increase the production of swabs needed for coronavirus testing.

But he urged state governments and hospitals to source their own masks and other medical supplies—sparking criticism from some governors that it was leading to a bidding war.

Earlier in April, Trump tweeted that "massive" amounts of medical supplies were being delivered by the federal government, but some states and hospitals have "insatiable appetites" and are "never satisfied."

It was recently revealed that the U.S. Commerce Department pushed U.S. manufacturers to sell nearly $18 million worth of face masks and other personal protective equipment to China earlier this year, even as the virus began to take hold in the U.S.

But in recent weeks, when supplies in the U.S. dwindled as cases rose, the Trump administration made bulk orders for N95 masks from 3M and other third-party vendors, but paid a high premium, the Washington Post reported.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration struck a deal with mask manufacturer 3M to bring more than 166.5 million masks into the country over three months following a dispute between the president and the company over mask exports.

The U.S. has more than 787,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 42,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 73,000 people have recovered.

This infographic, provided by Statista, shows the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the U.S. as of April 20.