ROCHESTER, Minn. — Doctors at the Mayo Clinic say they expect another surge in cases by the end of the week due to gatherings around Thanksgiving. They are adding about a dozen ICU beds and decreasing some elective surgeries, but say they have had some success with a new treatment they just started administering last week.
This as some nurses are speaking out, saying they wouldn't be in this position if everyone wore a mask.
"I think we need to somehow change the culture of what a mask means," said infectious disease nurse Traci Kokke said, "It’s been taken out of context. It’s purely a public health measure and wearing that mask says nothing else, but that you protect yourself and those around you."
Some nurses report working six days a week, as many as 12-hour shifts. One of them told a story about a fellow nurse who spent 8 hours dressed in personal protective gear holding an iPad so a family could say goodbye to their dying loved one on a Zoom call.
"If I could just wear a camera on my head and they could see just the chaos that’s part of the unit right now, you’d think twice about not wearing a mask or celebrating thanksgiving with your family or doing anything with a group of people," said critical care nurse Amy Spitzner.
Mayo's Dr. Amy Williams says there are about 300 people throughout the Mayo system with COVID. Starting last week, its doctors started treating those with the highest risk for having the worst outcome with antibodies as soon as the patient tests positive or has symptoms.
"There's a 10 day window and that's when the magic happens," explained Dr. Williams, who says they've infused 340 people. She said the antibodies fight the virus and helps decrease the severity of it and the risk of hospitalization.
She also reports high number of staff absences are dropping. At one point, hundreds of Mayo employees were out of work with COVID. Dr. Williams wants people to know they are able to staff their facilities and people should feel comfortable receiving care for other ailments.
"Don’t wait until you’re really sick to seek medical care," said Dr. Williams. "The ER is safe so if you have a chronic disease that’s getting worse or a new symptom, please seek medical care as needed."
Dr. Williams expects to see another surge in cases - on average people can start experiencing symptoms of COVID anywhere from three to 10 days after being exposed. Some nurses are frustrated and are imploring everyone to wear masks, social distance and stay home when you can.
"I would say the toughest thing is feeling like we’re fighting an uphill battle against people who don’t wear the proper precautions," said paramedic Andrew Torres. "Everyday we take care of someone, I think of how many more are being infected because someone’s not wearing a mask."