'We're more than double' prior surge -Omaha nurse

[NFA] Ten months into America’s worst health crisis in a century, and as COVID-19 cases surge worse than ever, the country’s front line workers are fighting misinformation, resistance to restrictions and general pandemic fatigue.

And they're speaking out.

Lisa Bernhard produced this report.

Exhausted.

Overworked.

Afraid.

Ten months into America’s worst health crisis in a century, the country’s front line workers – from California to New Jersey – are under intense strain as COVID-19 cases surge worse than ever, fighting misinformation, resistance to restrictions and general pandemic fatigue.

And, they're speaking out.

Emma Nohr is a COVID ICU nurse in Omaha.

"When we had our surge back in May, we were tired, we were exhausted and we thought, 'Wow, I don't know how this could really get much worse.'

And fast forward to now to this week.

And the surge that we thought we were having then was really nothing compared to what we're experiencing now.

We're more than double where we were." Nebraska’s Republican governor Pete Ricketts – quarantined after being exposed to the virus more than a week ago – issued new restrictions on Monday, which saw the state’s highest one-day increase in cases.

Omaha COVID ICU Nurse Lacie Gooch said her hospital has ten COVID units – one of them reserved for terminal cases.

"I have seen so many emergent intubations.

I’ve seen people more sick than I've ever seen in my life, and they just drop so fast." With 40 U.S. states reporting a record rise in coronavirus cases in November – and 20 seeing a record number of deaths – top U.S. health groups on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to share all critical information related to COVID-19 with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team.

In a letter to President Donald Trump, the heads of the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association said that real-time data on therapeutics, testing supplies, personal protective equipment, ventilators, hospital bed capacity and workforce availability needs to be shared with Biden’s staff in order to (quote) “save countless lives.” Their letter comes a day after Biden himself said that Trump’s failure to concede the election and begin a smooth transfer of power could mean… U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN: “More people may die.” Back in Omaha, COVID nurse Lacie Gooch has a strong message for the public: "Please take it seriously.

Wear your mask.

And I hope I don't see you here."