Frontline healthcare workers are risking their lives daily and being exposed to Covid-19. Why are we being exposed ? We are exposed because we are ultimately providing direct care for patients with the deadly virus. However we are not being given the correct PPE (personal protective equipment ) to protect us from getting sick by our healthcare systems. Healthcare workers were being told we did  not need a N95 respirator to protect us and a surgical mask was adequate protection. CDC has new data that conveys the virus does indeed live in the air for several hours. It is impossible for healthcare workers providing care to stay 6 feet away and place an IV or assist in life sustaining measures such as intubation . Now healthcare workers are getting sick and some deathly ill because we are reusing our N95 masks for weeks at a time. Healthcare systems are refusing to test their employees. Employees are being told 7 days paid sick time is all they are allotted and after that you are on your own . Yes this is the noble professions we have chosen. We chose to take care of the sick and help the dying but we did not chose to put our lives and those of our loved ones in jeopardy. Each day we go to work to battle this war zone with no armor. Reusing  a mask for days and weeks stored in a bag is putting our lives at risk. It hurts to see how unethical frontline healthcare workers are being treated , our lives matter too. The unknown ramifications of this virus are uncertain. Many nurses who cared for Covid positive patients are now sick in China by the thousands and several have died according to research articles. Walk  a day in our shoes, experience the devastation before our eyes . The vast numbers of patients being intubated and on ventilators, loved ones dying alone with no one to hold their hands, and being told we have no more ventilators to keep you alive. Experience the anxiety we feel coming to work, the nightmares that keep us up at night, sounds surreal doesn’t it, PTSD is real and many of us are already experiencing it. 
Frontline Healthcare workers need to be treated with respect, dignity and morality. Do the right thing if we are sick , test us , treat us , ensure our healthcare bills are paid , and we are paid sick time for any repercussions linked to this virus . Our government has failed us , our healthcare systems have failed us , this is your chance to regain our trust , do the right thing , ensure frontline healthcare workers are tested , treated , and paid sick time adequately for as long as we are sick . We want to serve our communities, but we need to know someone is looking after us also. 
Thank you !