Thousands of nurses in the United States have gone on strike to protest insufficient protection for health workers who may care for Ebola patients. The strike is expected to affect almost 90 hospitals and clinics and last until Thursday morning. It held ahead of a larger protest expected across 16 US states.
Around 20,000 nurses walked out in northern California on Tuesday.
Having held red and yellow "strike for health and safety" picket signs, the participants demand tougher Ebola safety precautions in the hospitals.
The nurses protest what they consider as insufficient protection for nurses who care for patients with the deadly Ebola virus.
Union officials said nurses are striking over claims that there has been an erosion of patient-care standards in Kaiser facilities for months and that the company has failed to adopt optimal safeguards for Ebola.
"The way they have treated Ebola is symptomatic of how they've treated everything else, which is just in time, do the bare minimum," said striking nurse, Juliana Rather.
Kaiser's senior Vice President Odette Bolano, however, has rejected the claims, insisting that full training have been given to their employees.
"We have been focused on making sure every single one of our employees has a foundational understanding of Ebola," Bolano said.
The infection of two nurses caring for Thomas Duncan, a Liberian died from Ebola virus, has caused concerns.
Duncan died on October 8. Nurses Amber Vinson and Nina Pham, however, survived the infection.
