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California's Filipino Nurses Are On The Front Lines Of The Coronavirus Fight
Angela Gatdula, a nurse at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, tested positive for COVID-19 in April. (California Nurses Association/National Nurses United)
No other country has exported so many front-line healthcare workers to California and beyond as the Philippines, a phenomenon that is rooted in colonialism and immigration policy.
Filipino nursing leaders in California say they're thankful that the state has so far escaped the surge in coronavirus cases that is devastating New York and New Jersey. But some L.A. nurses have paid dearly — some have become serious ill with the virus, and one nurse recently died.
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