Reflection on the working conditions of nursing professionals in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction : The World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of the presence of a new virus, highly contagious, by China in 2019. In 2020, WHO declared a Public Health emergency and a new pandemic. The strain of this new virus has become known as coronavirus 2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19. Outline : This article is a theoretical-reflective, descriptive, narrative analysis based on two guiding categories to reflect on the working and health conditions of nursing professionals in coping with COVID-19 in Brazil. Results : two categories were formed "the novel coronavirus and COVID-19: situation and challenges posed" and "the working conditions and health of nursing professionals in coping with COVID-19". Implications : It was understood that the COVID-19 pandemic is capable of generating many uncertainties in the professional environment, especially regarding the transmissibility of the infectious viral particles and the protection of the professional; therefore, special attention is needed for nursing workers who are exposed to the care of infected patients, sometimes subjected to unhealthy working conditions. Managers are recommended to intensify efforts to make sure that these workers are ensured the necessary conditions to carry out their activities safely.


INTRODUCTION
(SARS-CoV-2) and also as COVID-19. [1][2][3] It is known that the new SARS-CoV-2 virus was isolated from asymptomatic individuals and infected patients two weeks after the symptoms ceased.
Substantial morbidity and socioeconomic impact have required drastic measures on all continents, including blockades, social isolation, and border closures in many countries. 4 However, essential workers continued their work, exposing themselves to the risk of contracting the disease and/or becoming potential transmitters.
Among these workers are nursing professionals who are at the forefront of combating the novel coronavirus.
As a result, the nursing team has played a fundamental role in combating the pandemic, not only because of its technical capacity, but also because it is the largest professional category active in health services. If these professionals fall ill, it will have a negative impact on the general population, both because of the risk of spreading the disease and because of the increased burden on health services. 5 The survey of cases of this disease portrays the impact of infections among nurses, technicians, and assistants. In China, a total of 1,716 health workers were infected and five died from  This fact portrays the importance of maintaining preventive care for the novel coronavirus by all health professionals and, especially, the nursing team; these workers are always at the forefront in combating this disease, often exceeding the limits of personal care to maintain and restore people's health. Therefore, if these workers fall ill, it might represent a collapse in the coping with COVID-19, due to the lack of professionals to work in health institutions.
With no intention of wanting to minimize occupational risks in other fields of work in Nursing, the hospital sector is quite worrying, it is also one of the nurses' work areas considered to be more dangerous to workers' health, since it is related to exposure to a large number of occupational diseases and work accidents. 6 In this way, in view of the above and in view of the limitation of studies related to this theme, the need to promote more knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic and Brazilian nursing professionals is justified.
Thus, this study aimed to reflect on the working conditions and health of nursing professionals in coping with COVID-19 in Brazil. To this end, two guiding categories were developed to support the study's reflection: "the novel coronavirus and COVID-19: scenario and situation posed", and "the working conditions and health of nursing professionals in coping with COVID-19". The reflection is built from a theoretical-reflective, descriptive, narrative analysis, in order to portray the current situation of the working conditions of the nursing team in Brazil. Workers who provide care to infected patients are at high risk of being infected and must be adequately protected and trained, as in addition to assisting such patients, they also collect and dispose of their body waste. 10 In this sense, it is important that such workers feel prepared both technically and emotionally to face the pandemic that arrived abruptly without the services and workers being prepared.

AND CHALLENGES POSED
Another aspect to be considered is that there is a fear of self-inoculation, as well as a concern about the possibility of spreading the virus to their families, The current working conditions offered to nursing workers are considered inhumane, as they mainly expose them to biological risks, due to direct care for infected people and the lack of an adequate supply of PPE. As a result of the foregoing, a large number of professionals who were also infected with SARS-CoV-2 were record, who needed to be away from work, drastically reducing the number of these professionals to meet the high demand of patients who need care during this pandemic. 24 It is assumed that given the situations experienced by these workers, who are in direct contact with infected patients, they need to have their mental health regularly examined and monitored. Likewise, it is essential to identify professionals with a history of exposure to psychosocial risk factors. 15 Nursing professionals need care, attention, and rest. These workers are