Stopwork threat if masks not provided

WELLINGTON: Nurses at managed isolation and quarantine facilities are threatening to stop work if the Government does not ensure they have access to appropriate safety equipment.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation industrial services manager Glenda Alexander said some but not all MIQ sites had a good supply and distribution of the highquality N95 masks, and used the testfit process to ensure the masks were properly fitted.

‘‘In other facilities they are still using the surgical masks and we are saying no, that is not appropriate given the growing body of evidence that says that the virus can be transmitted through airborne contact,’’ she said.

Nurses needed to be provided with the appropriate gear regardless of where they were working, she said.

The shortage did not appear to be due to the cost or supply, as there were a large number of the masks in the country, she said.

‘‘We’ve been working with the employers and other parties, like MBIE, to talk about how we can get the appropriate equipment provided in the places it needs to be for our members to be safe and for them to be safe to return home to their families at the end of their shift.’’

The union’s workers were so concerned they had asked the union to look at whether they could refuse unsafe work under the Health and Safety at Work Act, she said.

That could mean they would refuse to undertake work which put them in direct contact with people who were infected or potentially infected.

‘‘That’s quite a big deal for a nurse to do that.’’

Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins said yesterday he had asked the Health Ministry for further advice on the use of the N95 masks. — RNZ