Coronavirus Australia: Nurses reveal face mask injuries | Photos

Bruised nurses, who are working dehydrated because they can’t remove PPE, have told Victorians to quit complaining about face masks.

Melbourne nurses have urged Victorians to comply with the rules and wear a mask when in public places, saying the light face coverings are nothing compared to the heavy duty masks health workers must wear.

Multiple nurses working across Melbourne’s emergency and intensive care units have told the ABC they are suffering from bruising and pressure injuries as the result of wearing face masks and shields for hours on end.

Despite the discomfort, nurses must wear the masks and other PPE the whole time they are on duty because of coronavirus.

They can’t even remove the masks to take a sip of water, with Royal Melbourne emergency department nurse Mel Pearson telling 7.30 they are dehydrated as a result.

RELATED: Follow the latest coronavirus updates

Nurses working on the frontline, like at this testing clinic in Bondi Beach, must wear PPE for hours on end. Picture: David Swift/NCA NewsWire

RELATED: Everything you need to know about Victoria’s lockdown rules

“It’s a lot harder to just go pee if we want to,” she said. “We have pressure injuries on our forehead and bruising on our chins and our noses.

“Seeing people in the community complain about their masks that they have to wear for half an hour to go to the shops is a little bit disheartening when our masks actually cause us physical injuries, just to keep us and our patients safe.”

ICU nurse unit manager Sam Bates works at Western Health’s Footscray and Sunshine Hospitals and said she was sick of hearing anti-maskers complaining about the rules.

“I don’t care how uncomfortable you think your face mask is. I don’t care if you think this is a conspiracy theory or some made-up hoax. I can tell you it’s very real,” she told the ABC.

“I’m wearing one all day. I don’t want to wear one all day. So please, if you have to wear one when you go out in public, just for half an hour or an hour, please do so. Every little bit helps.”

US nurse Syndi Lane showing the marks on face from wearing PPE. Picture: Instagram

Italian nurse Alessia Bonari shared how PPE had left her bruised and injured. Picture: Instagram/Alessiabonari

Health care workers sporting injured faces from PPE have become a common sight around the world as they work long shifts to save lives.

In March, a photo of Italian nurse Alessia Bonari with a bruised and red face went viral, summing up the horror situation the country was facing at the time as it was overwhelmed by cases.

Yesterday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that everyone in the state would now be required to wear a mask when in public, after previously only making it mandatory for those in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.

All Victorians must now wear masks when in public. Picture: Daniel Pockett/NCA NewsWire

While the vast majority of Victorians have complied with the rules, there have been several high-profile incidents of anti-maskers refusing to wear the face coverings.

Despite a growing number of coronavirus cases as the result of community transmission, masks are yet to be mandatory in NSW.

But yesterday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged people to consider wearing them in known hot spots, if you work in a customer service role, while at church and in closed public spaces such as supermarkets and public transport.

“I want to stress it’s not compulsory but it’s a strong recommendation from health,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters. “I can’t stress enough that the next few weeks will make or break us.”