El Paso nurse tells of ‘horrific’ conditions inside ‘the pit’ where Covid patients go to die

Medical workers are seen putting on PPE before a shift at a drive-through testing site in El Paso on November 9

Ms Rivers said she had been shocked by conditions inside the hospital.

"That assignment there broke me," she said. "I was put in what’s called a pit. Was eight patients. I was told that whatever patients go into the pit, they only come out in a body bag.

"And because they was Covid-positive, this hospital’s policy was they only get three rounds of CPR, which is only six minutes."

She said that while she worked there, for a month, "not a single patient made it".

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Ms Rivers said: "What I experienced as a nurse was horrific."

She said that not even doctors would enter the pit. 

In addition to the long hours and the overwhelming demand, dealing with relatives was deeply traumatic, she said.

"To have the families call you night after night after night for an update, like anything was going to be different, was horrific," she said. 

"To know that the only way that those patients was coming out of that pit was in a body bag. 

"I am not OK from an emotional, mental standpoint."

The hospital issued a statement, saying: "After watching the video, while we cannot fully verify the events expressed, we empathize and sympathize with the difficult, physical and emotional toll that this pandemic takes on thousands of healthcare workers here and throughout our country."

Her account came as yet more records were broken nationwide.

Cars line up for testing at the Dodgers stadium in Los Angeles on Friday

On Friday 181,194 new cases were confirmed: before November, there had never been a day with more than 100,000 new cases.

A subsequent spike in deaths is expected; the rate remains below its spring peak, but is currently averaging around 1,000 people a day. 

California became the second state to record one million coronavirus cases, after Texas, and Oregon and New Mexico became the latest states to reimpose lockdowns.

North and South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming and Wisconsin are now the five hardest-hit states per capita in terms of infections, with North Dakota the worst for deaths over the past seven days, according to the New York Times analysis of data.

In New York City, Bill de Blasio, the mayor, warned parents to be ready for their childrens’ schools to shut again — a suggestion which has angered many given that indoor dining in restaurants remains open, at 25 per cent capacity, and transmission rates among young children remain low.