The state of Georgia is seeing thousands of retired nurses and volunteers asking how they can step up to help the state as more and more Covid-19 cases are confirmed.

The state is currently facing a nursing shortage. Last year, prior to the outbreak, the state Department of Health warned the shortage had reached crisis levels.

“There were about 10,000 [nursing professionals] a day that were retiring (nationally),” Richard Lamphier, president of the Georgia Nurses Association told CNN by phone. “As of right now, with nurses coming back to the bedside from retirement and also nurses that may have worked in nonclinical roles, those nurses will be activated to come back to take care of patients as well.”

Lamphier estimated between 3,000 and 3,500 retired nurses in Georgia have asked to get back into the nursing profession.

“More so than ever, the ER is in need of nurses,” Erica Mills tells CNN.

Mills has been a nurse for over 16 years. She’s currently on the board of the Georgia Nurses Association and works in administration at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.

“Generally, there’s never enough nurses,” Mills said. “We are still in a nursing shortage. Very much so.”

Lamphier says some area hospitals are dealing with a nursing shortage by asking them to work additional hours. But in the middle of a pandemic, that require “creative staffing” decisions to make sure additional hours don’t mean additional risk of contracting Covid-19.

“Instead of working, say in the front line ICU or emergency room, maybe they can work an additional shift and another floor to allow that area some relief and then rotate in different areas,” he said.

Even so, Mills says many nurse are still anxious about exposure — especially as they’re being asked to reuse personal protective equipment.

“They're saying, ‘Oh, you’ve got to reuse equipment.’ You can now wear protective gear in the hallways and things like that. Those were always infection prevention type of measures that we took. We didn't wear gloves or masks or gowns or anything in the hallway. Well now it's almost abnormal to see someone walking around without that on,” Mills said.

The Georgia Department of Public Health is also trying to help by putting out a call for medical volunteers. The department told CNN in a statement, “There has been a significant influx in March with nearly 800 new volunteers answering the call.”