WESTWOOD—On Wednesday, concerns for a potential Ebola epidemic were expressed by a group of about twenty unionized nurses protesting outside of UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
The virus can only be spread through direct contact with bodily fluids or direct contact with a contaminated surface or item. Recent cases of the disease in the United States have specifically afflicted nurses and other medical professionals who are regularly exposed to contaminated environments.
Because of this, protestors wanted to ensure that full and appropriate measures are taken to prevent outbreaks of the disease in California hospitals. The protest in Westwood was one of three staged by the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, including demonstrations at UC San Francisco and UC San Diego.
Though UC states that all five UC medical centers are properly equipped to treat Ebola, protestors lobbied for fully-fledged training programs and equipment for medical professionals that could come into direct proximity with the virus.
To date their have been no reported cases of the disease in Los Angeles or the state of California.
