A California hospital suspended ten nurses because they refused to treat coronavirus patients without the greater protection of N95 masks.

The nurses at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica said

A California hospital suspended ten nurses because they refused to treat coronavirus patients without the greater protection of N95 masks.

The nurses at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica said they requested the N95 masks, which can filter out 95 per cent of all airborne particles, including ones too tiny to be blocked by regular masks, but that hospital officials said they weren't necessary.

Then last week one of the nurses tested positive for COVID-19 as doctors at the hospital advised the health care workers that they should be wearing better protection.

Ten nurses at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, were suspended because they refused to treat coronavirus patients without N95 masks. Nurses at the hospital are pictured raising their fists in solidarity after requesting the greater protection

The nurses at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica said they requested N95 masks, which can filter out 95 per cent of all airborne particles, including ones too tiny to be blocked by regular masks, but that hospital officials said they weren't necessary

That's when the nurses demanded the N95 masks to treat the infected and the hospital suspended them, according to the National Nurses Union, which represents them.

The nurses are being paid but not allowed to return to work pending an investigation from human resources, the union said.

There have been more than 27,000 confirmed cases in California of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 885 deaths.

Across the country, there have been more than 645,000 cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 28,585 deaths.

Across the country, there have been more than 645,000 cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 28,585 deaths

How the number of coronavirus cases has escalated over time in the US

How the number of new coronavirus infections has escalated over time in the US

A day-to-day look at the number of deaths in the US blamed on the coronavirus

The suspended nurses are among hundreds of doctors, nurses and other health care workers across the country who say they've been asked to work without adequate protection. 

Some have taken part in protests or lodged formal complaints. Others are buying — or even making — their own supplies.

As some have taken their own precautions, others have relied on their hospitals for masks and other protection, sometimes with deadly results.  

A Florida nurse died last week after her husband said she treated coronavirus patients without being given a face mask.

Danielle DiCenso, 33, a traveling nurse stationed in the ICU unit at Palmetto General Hospital, started showing COVID-19 symptoms two weeks after working long shifts with infected patients without the protective gear. 

Danielle DiCenso, 33, is believed to have died from coronavirus after being exposed due to a lack of proper personal protective equipment in the Florida hospital where she worked

Her husband David found her dead in her living room on April 9 after she placed herself in quarantine and her condition rapidly deteriorated.

He claims staff at the hospital didn't give her the right equipment, and now their four-year-old son is without a mother.

Others, like the suspended nurses, weren't willing to take the risk of working on the frontlines without adequate protection. 

Imaris Vera tells DailyMail TV that she walked out of the ICU unit at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois March 30 when she arrived for her shift only to realize the face masks staff were asked to wear were inadequate.

And the registered nurse, who was caring for coronavirus patients, claims when she offered to wear her own personal protective equipment (PPE) her manager denied her request, citing CDC policy.

Imaris, 30, currently lives with her sister Sabrina who has a rare blood disease, which puts her life at risk if she's infected by COVID-19, leading to Imaris deciding to put her family first and walked out of the hospital. 

Imaris Vera, 30, walked out of the ICU unit at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois March 30. The registered nurse arrived for her shift only to realize the face masks staff were asked to wear were inadequate and she wasn't allowed to wear her own

Imaris Vera currently lives with her sister Sabrina who has a rare blood disease, which puts her life at risk if she's infected by COVID-19, leading to Imaris deciding to put her family first and walked out of the hospital. Imaris is pictured in her hospital scrubs

Federal officials first told doctors and health workers in mid-March that the nation's stockpile doesn't have enough basic medical equipment, including masks and gowns, to meet the crush of coronavirus cases that was coming. 

As COVID-19 cases soared in March, the US was hit with a critical shortage of medical supplies including N95s, which are mostly made in China. In response, the CDC lowered its standard for health care workers' protective gear, recommending they use bandannas if they run out of the masks.  

Despite the guidance, many hospitals still opted for more adequate protection because the infection has proven to be extremely contagious. 

The CDC said Wednesday at least 9,200 health care workers have been infected.

The CDC said Wednesday at least 9,200 health care workers have been infected. A nurse emerges from a tent with a kit to test for novel coronavirus COVID-19 at a drive through testing station for University of Washington Medical Center employees in Seattle, Washington

Saint John's said in a statement that as of Tuesday it was providing N95 masks to all nurses caring for COVID-19 patients and those awaiting test results. The statement said the hospital had increased its supply and was disinfecting masks daily.

'It's no secret there is a national shortage,' said the statement. The hospital would not comment on the suspended nurses. 

Angela Gatdula, a Saint John's nurse who fell ill with COVID-19, said she asked hospital managers why doctors were wearing N95s but nurses weren't. She says they told her that the CDC said surgical masks were enough to keep her safe.

Then she was hit with a dry cough, severe body aches and joint pain.

'When I got the phone call that I was positive I got really scared,' she said.

She's now recovering and plans to return to work next week.

'The next nurse that gets this might not be lucky. They might require hospitalization. They might die,' she said.

Boxes of N95 protective masks for use by medical field personnel are seen at a New York State emergency operations incident command center during the coronavirus outbreak in New Rochelle

Some exasperated health care workers have complained to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

'I ... fear retribution for being a whistleblower and plead to please keep me anonymous,' wrote a Tennessee medical worker, who complained staffers were not allowed to wear their own masks if they weren't directly treating COVID-19 patients.

In Oregon, a March 26 complaint warned that masks were not being provided to nurses working with suspected COVID-19 patients. Another Oregon complaint alleged nurses 'are told that wearing a mask will result in disciplinary action.'

One New Jersey nurse who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution, said she was looking for a new job after complaining to OSHA.

'Do I regret filing the complaint? No, at least not yet,' she said. 'I know it was the right thing to do.'

Some are taking to the streets.

On Wednesday, nurse unions in New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania scheduled actions at their hospitals and posted on social media using hashtag 'PPEoverProfit.'

Nurses at Kaiser Permanente's Fresno Medical Center in central California demanded more protective supplies at a protest during their shift change Tuesday. The hospital, like many in the U.S., requires nurses to use one N95 mask per day, which has raised concerns about carrying the infection from one patient to the next.

Ten nurses from the facility have tested positive with COVID-19, Kaiser said. Three have been admitted to the hospital and one is in critical care, protest organizers said.

Wade Nogy, a Kaiser senior vice president, denied union claims that nurses have been unnecessarily exposed.

'Kaiser Permanente has years of experience managing highly infectious diseases, and we are safely treating patients who have been infected with this virus, while protecting other patients, members and employees,' Nogy said.

Amy Arlund, a critical care nurse at the facility, said that before the pandemic, following infection control protocols they're currently using would have been grounds for disciplinary action.

'And now it's like they've thrown all those standards out the window as if they never existed,' Arlund said. 'It's beyond me.'