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Nurses fear what's to come: 'Walk down our unit for a day'

Hospital room medical file photo.jpeg
Posted at 3:00 PM, Dec 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-24 15:00:35-05

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nurses in overtaxed hospitals are afraid that people aren’t taking precautions as coronavirus cases surge, and they especially fear what’s next.

Nurse Jenny Carrillo’s voice breaks as she describes looking into the eyes of patients struggling to breathe. She works at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, which saw a record number of COVID-19 patients this week. It comes as California hits 2 million infections just 44 days after reaching 1 million.

Hospitals in California have been pushed to the brink, and it’s expected to get worse as people travel and gather for Christmas and New Year’s.