In a protest designed to adhere to social-distancing and with care taken for safety, 1,000 pop-up signs were arranged on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building showing the faces of nurses and frontline healthcare workers pleading for adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) on April 17, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Paul Morigi | Getty Images
Overwhelmed healthcare workers across the country are taking to the streets to demand safer working conditions and more personal protection equipment to help them fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Nurses and doctors on the frontlines are asking federal and state governments as well as hospitals to do more to protect staff and want more PPE to ensure their safety while on the job.
With widespread shortages of the vital N95 respirator masks, face shields, gloves and fluid-resistant gowns, federal and state governments are partnering with the private sector to produce and distribute more PPE to frontline workers.
The following are scenes from some of the protests around the country by healthcare workers on the frontlines:
Alameda, California
A health care worker at Alameda Hospital wears a protective mask with a message during a protest outside of the hospital on April 07, 2020 in Alameda, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
New York City
New York City nurses and health workers gather at a ‘COVID-19 Frontline Health Worker Action’ event in New York City to demand safer working conditions, more personal protective equipment (PPE) and free virus testing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Giles Clarke | Getty Images
New York City
Public health workers, doctors and nurses protest over lack of sick pay and personal protective equipment (PPE) outside a hospital in the borough of the Bronx on April 17, 2020 in New York, NY.
Giles Clarke | Getty Images
Torrance, California
Shiela Mercado holds a sign as she and other nurses at Little Company of Mary marched in front of the building in Torrance on Friday, April 17, 2020. Nurses at facilities throughout California that are represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) rallied on Friday, April 17 to demand proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for nurses assigned to suspected and/or confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Brittany Murray | Long Beach Press-Telegram | Getty Images
New York City
Public health workers, doctors and nurses protest over lack of sick pay and personal protective equipment (PPE) outside a hospital in the borough of the Bronx on April 17, 2020 in New York, NY.
Giles Clarke | Getty Images
Orange, California
A nurse holds up a sign to protest the lack of personal protective gear available at UCI Medical Center amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 3, 2020 in Orange, California. Hospitals nationwide are facing shortages of PPE due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
New York City
New York City nurses and health workers gather at a ‘COVID-19 Frontline Health Worker Action’ event on April 6, 2020 in New York City to demand safer working conditions, more personal protective equipment (PPE) and free virus testing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Giles Clarke | Getty Images
Santa Monica, California
Registered nurses and healthcare workers protest what they say is a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) available for frontline workers at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 13, 2020 in Santa Monica, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
New York City
Public health workers, doctors and nurses protest over lack of sick pay and personal protective equipment (PPE) outside a hospital in the borough of the Bronx on April 17, 2020 in New York, NY.
Giles Clarke | Getty Images
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tammy Lambert of Westland protests outside the University of Michigan Hospital on April 15, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Gregory Shamus | Getty Images
New York City
Nurses at Harlem Hospital hold a rally demanding greater access to PPE to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in front of the hospital in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., April 6, 2020.
Aleksandra Michalska | Reuters
New York City
Mt. Sinai medical workers hold up photos of medical workers who have died from the coronavirus during a protest on April 3, 2020 in New York City. Medical workers are protesting the lack of personal protective equipment during a surge in coronavirus cases.
Stephanie Keith | Getty Images
Washington
In a protest designed to adhere to social-distancing and with care taken for safety, 1,000 pop-up signs were arranged on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building showing the faces of nurses and frontline healthcare workers pleading for adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) on April 17, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Paul Morigi | Getty Images
