Nurses treat a COVID-19 patient with serious symptoms on Dec. 11. (Provided by Kindai University Hospital) Nurses have quit their jobs at 21 percent of hospitals that accept COVID-19 patients mainly because of changing labor conditions, infection risks and discrimination stemming from their work, a survey showed Dec. 22. “The biggest wave of COVID-19 is raging now, so the mental and physical fatigue is reaching a peak among nurses,” said Toshiko Fukui, head of the Japanese Nursing Association (JNA), which conducted the survey. The survey covered nursing directors at 8,300 hospitals across the nation in September, as well as 38,000 nurses. The JNA received valid responses from 2,765 hospitals, or 34 percent of the total contacted.