Coronavirus Australia: NSW health worker says COVID-19 test patient spat ‘on her face’

A healthcare worker says she was spat on by a patient being tested for coronavirus who told her she's “going to get sick anyway”.

A healthcare worker has claimed she was spat on by a patient while working in a coronavirus team.

The young woman, wearing a NSW Health uniform, shared a video describing the sick attack. She said a patient spat directly in her face, telling her she was going to “get sick anyway”.

The woman shared her video to TikTok, where it quickly went viral across numerous social media platforms, with people saying the incident has made them ashamed to be Australian. She has asked not to be identified by name.

In Australia, the government has hastily enforced severe measures to try to control the spread of the coronavirus, as it threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system. More than 2700 cases of the virus have been diagnosed across the country, and 11 people have died.

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The woman said she was targeted by a patient being tested for coronavirus.

‘He spat on my face,’ she says in the viral video.

“Australians generally have this attitude towards coronavirus where they do not care whether they live or die, or kill their grandparents or whatever, which is already super fun to deal with,” the woman said.

“But yesterday I had a patient spit on my face.

“We don’t know whether he’s confirmed or not — we haven’t got the swabs back yet, but he’s been tested — and he spat on my face.

The young woman, who appeared distressed by the incident, said she was targeted because “I’m going to get sick anyway”.

She then asked others how it was going in their country as they tackled the coronavirus pandemic.

“How is it? How are the people?” she said.

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The video has been watched more than 216,000 times and has been liked more than 29,000 times on TikTok.

More than 600 people commented on the post, thanking her for her work. Others were outraged, saying the incident made them embarrassed to be Australian.

“Hi, also a nurse in Australia, can tell you this also happened to me in the last week. You’re not alone girl,” one person said.

The nurse’s comment prompted a wave of outrage, with one person writing, “What the hell is wrong with people?”

“You don’t deserve that. That is the kind of Australian that makes me ashamed of my country,” another person wrote. “On the other hand, thank you for what you are doing.”

“Ugh! I’m so so so sorry that you have to deal with people like that,” model Lyndl Kean commented on the video. “Please know that you have millions of people around the world who respect you.”

The healthcare worker has since confirmed in social media posts that she does not have coronavirus.