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Nurses, bus drivers and EMTs across the country said they all fear going to work every day.

Several workers told the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on today that they lack the personal protection equipment they need, suffer physical exhaustion and are worried about bringing the virus home to their families.

“We did not have enough nurses in the ICU before the pandemic hit and we certainly do not have enough now,” Talisa Hardin, a registered nurse at the University of Chicago Medical Center said at the hearing.

Eric Colts, a bus driver with the Detroit Department of Transportation, said he works his entire shift on a “40-foot incubator.”  

“The biggest fear for me while I’m driving, trying to pay attention to the road, is you’ll have someone in the back either sneeze or cough,” Colts said. There is no way to properly socially distance on a bus, he added.

Diana Wilson, an emergency medical technician with the New York City Fire Department, said she’s had to send her sons to live with loved ones to keep them safe from coronavirus. 

Wilson, who became a widow in 2019, said she hasn’t seen her three kids in 10 weeks.  

“On a normal EMS shift, we respond to one or two cardiac arrests. Since Covid-19 has ravaged our state, we are now responding to calls by six to 10 cardiac arrests in an eight-hour tour,” Wilson said. “Despite our best efforts to save lives, we are finding patients dead in their homes, sometimes even in their cars.” 

Marcos Aranda, a custodian at Pacific Gas and Electric, said he wears latex gloves and dust masks to try to protect himself.

“My job has always been essential to protecting the public’s health and safety, even before the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

“We now have to make sure we disinfect every frequently touched surface – from phones to elevators, to microwave handles. We do a detailed job to make sure that people coming into work in our buildings during this crisis stay safe,” he added.