'I'm scared': Exhausted Texas ICU nurse says she's worried about an end to the state's mask mandate

Brittany Smart, a Texas I C u Nurse. Thank you for joining us right after your shift. I appreciate you. Thanks for having me. So you are there when you hear that the governor believes you are ready to have no more restrictions. What are you afraid that will look like in your place of work? You know, I feel like we finally hit a point where we all started breathing a little bit easier. We kind of saw a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel. Uh huh. And I kind of feel like that was shut down. I think we're all pretty exhausted. And I'm scared of what this is gonna look like. How much easier is the job now than when you guys were at peak? Oh, man, When this first started, I went to New York, and I remember saying I thought I was in a Third world country like, I've never seen anything like it. And then I said, you know, this is only New York. Um, And then I got back to Texas four months later, and I was like, Oh, my gosh, this is happening here, too. Um, and it was. It was absolutely devastating. Um, and I think it's going to continue to look like this, and it might even be worse because we're exhausted now. Now we're tired, and we really thought it was coming to an end. Um, it's not gonna look good. So just to be clear, it's not like you guys are playing cards all day long because the cases have dwindled. So much so that the idea of not having to mask up anymore makes sense to you. Yeah, we're still not allowing. Visitors were still masking up. We're still taking all the precautions because we still have covid patients. It's not like the covid patients are gone. It's not like there not dying. It's just that we no longer need a refrigerated truck. Outside is the deal. You know, our morgues have finally let up just a little bit, so we can, you know, actually take care of these patients after they die and allow them to be buried properly. We don't have people in the hallways anymore on stretchers. You know, we're not putting dead bodies in empty rooms at this point. Um, so we're breathing to a little bit easier But it doesn't really. It's not better. It's it's just it's finally easing up a tad bit. Um, it's a little nerve wracking to see that, you know, we're gonna take away the mask. I don't think it's safe to do that right now. When you heard about this, what is your biggest fear about what happens between now and this burst of vaccines that will help get more people protected? My biggest fear is that we're gonna we're gonna lose more people, and we're gonna lose them faster because this variant is a lot stronger, you know that it's going to spread a lot faster. Have you had any experience with the variant, or is this what you're hearing? So, um, I have I Honestly, whenever we test people for covid, we don't test the variants. We don't know what we just know. Their covid positive. Um, so I'm not sure if I've taken care of someone with the variant. I just know all of our infectious disease doctors, um, have been like, you know, we're nervous because with the variant, we're not sure exactly if this vaccine is going to cover that very end. Um, but we want all the protection we can get, and I think it's important until we know exactly what we're fighting to continue to protect everybody in the best way we can.

Brittany Smart has spent months tending to the COVID-19 patients who poured into Texas hospitals as the virus raged across the state — and the country.It has been devastating, the ICU nurse told CNN Tuesday night, speaking right after the end of another shift.Health care workers had begun to see a light at the end of the tunnel, she said, amid ongoing vaccinations and after several weeks of declining COVID-19 cases. But that was "shut down" when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was lifting the statewide mask mandate and capacity limits on businesses, Smart added."We're all pretty exhausted and I'm scared of what this is going to look like," she said.Smart said she doesn't think now is a safe time to take away the mask mandate and called the governor's move "nerve-racking."COVID-19 trends across the U.S. may have been encouraging for a while, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned earlier this week that recent steep declines in cases now seem to be "leveling off at still very high numbers."The U.S. has averaged more than 65,000 new COVID-19 cases daily for the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data. More than 46,300 people remain hospitalized with the virus nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Texas announced more than 6,600 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday and more than 270 newly reported COVID-19 deaths, according to state data. More than 5,600 COVID-19 patients remain in the state's hospitals, the data shows. Related video: Retired nurse volunteers to help with vaccinations"It's not like the Covid patients are gone," Smart said. "It's not like they're not dying. It's just that we no longer need a refrigerated truck outside, is the deal.""We don't have people in the hallways anymore, stretchers," she said. "So, breathing is a little bit easier but... it's not better."And experts have warned the country could see another surge in just a matter of weeks, fueled by highly contagious variants already circulating in the U.S. That's why, they've cautioned, it's critical not to let up on safety measures just yet."My biggest fear is that we're going to lose more people," Smart said.

Brittany Smart has spent months tending to the COVID-19 patients who poured into Texas hospitals as the virus raged across the state — and the country.

It has been devastating, the ICU nurse told CNN Tuesday night, speaking right after the end of another shift.

Health care workers had begun to see a light at the end of the tunnel, she said, amid ongoing vaccinations and after several weeks of declining COVID-19 cases. But that was "shut down" when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was lifting the statewide mask mandate and capacity limits on businesses, Smart added.

"We're all pretty exhausted and I'm scared of what this is going to look like," she said.

Smart said she doesn't think now is a safe time to take away the mask mandate and called the governor's move "nerve-racking."

COVID-19 trends across the U.S. may have been encouraging for a while, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned earlier this week that recent steep declines in cases now seem to be "leveling off at still very high numbers."

The U.S. has averaged more than 65,000 new COVID-19 cases daily for the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data. More than 46,300 people remain hospitalized with the virus nationwide, according to the

Texas announced more than 6,600 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday and more than 270 newly reported COVID-19 deaths, according to

More than 5,600 COVID-19 patients remain in the state's hospitals, the data

Related video: Retired nurse volunteers to help with vaccinations

"It's not like the Covid patients are gone," Smart said. "It's not like they're not dying. It's just that we no longer need a refrigerated truck outside, is the deal."

"We don't have people in the hallways anymore, stretchers," she said. "So, breathing is a little bit easier but... it's not better."

And experts have warned the country could see another surge in just a matter of weeks, fueled by highly contagious variants already circulating in the U.S. That's why, they've cautioned, it's critical not to let up on safety measures just yet.

"My biggest fear is that we're going to lose more people," Smart said.

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