Washington:
A major US nurses' union on Thursday announced plans for nationwide strikes and protests next month over what they called hospitals' failure to protect workers against Ebola risks.
On November 11 and 12, thousands of registered nurses plan strikes, picket lines and vigils to demand "tougher Ebola safety precautions in the nation's hospitals," said a statement from National Nurses United.
Some 50,000 nurses in California and 100,000 nurses elsewhere in the country plan to join in, said Deborah Burger, co-president of National Nurses United (NNU).
"One centerpiece of the actions will be a two-day strike by 18,000 RNs (registered nurses) and nurse practitioners at 66 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics," said the union.
"A strike will also occur at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC affecting 400 RNs."
The union said it wants all hospitals to adopt "the highest level of safeguards," including full-body hazmat suits that leave no skin exposed, as well as air purifying respirators.
They also want "continuous, rigorous interactive training" for any health care worker that might encounter an Ebola patient, including practice putting on and taking off the hazmat suits.
Hospitals affected will be issued a 10-day notice before any pickets or strikes take place, the union said.
"It is a crime that nurses actually have to strike," Burger said.
"The messages that nurses have been getting is they are expendable."
Ebola is spread through close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, and health care workers are particularly at risk.
NNU began calling for better preparedness nationwide after two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas became infected with Ebola while caring for a Liberian man who was diagnosed after traveling from his homeland to the United States.
The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, died on October 8. Nurses Amber Vinson and Nina Pham recovered from their Ebola infections and were sent home earlier this month.
On October 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued stricter guidelines for protecting health care workers against Ebola.
Prior to working with an Ebola patient, medical personnel must be repeatedly trained in and able to demonstrate competency in putting on and taking off personal protective equipment.
The gear they wear should allow no skin to be exposed and should include gloves, a waterproof gown or coveralls, a respirator, a face shield and a disposable hood.
A trained observer must be present to watch every step of the process of putting on and taking off the equipment.
The new guidelines update a previous document that the CDC issued before the first US diagnosis of Ebola, but are not a mandate.
Officials have not yet identified what happened to allow nurses Pham and Vinson to become infected.