Hospital staff caring for COVID-19 patient confronted by virus denier

A man who stormed into a hospital ward to take his infected friend home told staff his treatment should be replaced with vitamin C, D and zinc.

This is the shocking moment a COVID-19 denier is removed from a hospital ward after trying to take a virus patient home – despite health workers warning “he will die”.

Staggering footage shows medics desperately trying to calm the situation as a man films them, insisting the clearly unwell patient should go home.

But the confrontation becomes more and more heated as the man filming insists there is no proof of coronavirus and claims the doctors have been lying.

The doctor responds: “My main concern is his safety and at the moment you are making him unsafe.

“He’s taken his oxygen off, he’s going to die if we don’t put it back on.”

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A hospital worker. Picture: YouTube

The COVID-19 patient (right). Picture: YouTube

At one point, the doctor points to the patient’s oxygen levels on a monitor and says, “73 per cent. He’s at risk of dropping dead at any minute.”

One doctor can then be seen quickly trying to put the patient back on oxygen, explaining to the group: “He has coronavirus pneumonia affecting both of his lungs. He’s on steroids called dexamethasone. He’s on antibiotics to treat concurrent bacterial infections.”

The man with the camera says his treatment should be replaced with vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc but is flatly told: “None of those are proven treatments for coronavirus.”

The patient is told he will die without oxygen. Picture: YouTube

The man filming then goes on to claim that coronavirus hasn’t been “proven to exist”.

The dramatic scenes unfolded in a UK hospital as official figures today revealed more than 95,000 people have so far died from coronavirus in the UK, with more than 27,000 people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the past seven days.

Security had to be called to the hospital as the situation continued to escalate, removing a number of people for trespassing.

Two people have since been fined, police confirmed.

The footage was shared online after the initial confrontation unfolded on Saturday, January 23.

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‘PUTTING LIVES AT RISK’

A Surrey Police spokesperson confirmed officers had been called to the hospital after concerns people had gained access to a critical care ward and were not wearing masks.

They were also reported to be abusive to hospital staff and refused to leave, with an investigation now underway.

East Surrey Chief Inspector Kimball Edey said: “The escalation of this incident, with the abusive comments being directed at the hospital on social media, is extremely concerning, and further inquiries into this matter are ongoing.

“These comments are obviously causing considerable distress for the staff at the hospital and we are doing everything we can to ensure that those responsible are identified and located.

“When we attended the hospital last week, it transpired that a number of people visiting a patient were not wearing face masks, and fines were issued to two of them.

“We have continued to maintain our 4Es approach towards any breaches of current COVID regulations – explaining, encouraging and educating and only enforcing when we are faced with a flagrant breach of the rules as a last resort – since the start of the first lockdown.

“Unfortunately, there is a small minority of people who do not understand or refuse to appreciate the seriousness of the impact of the pandemic. To gain access to a critical care ward without taking the proper precautions not only puts themselves at risk, but also the lives of other people and the hospital staff who are trying to care for seriously ill patients, at risk as well.

“To then become abusive and threatening towards the staff who are trying to treat these vulnerable patients under extremely challenging conditions defies belief and is simply reprehensible.

“Thankfully, the vast majority of Surrey residents are complying with the lockdown regulations, and we thank them for that, but we will not hesitate to take action when we are faced with such an extreme and blatant disregard for these rules.”

Michael Wilson, chief executive of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Any suggestion that COVID-19 doesn’t exist or isn’t serious is not only extremely disrespectful to the NHS staff caring for patients affected by the virus, but it also puts the lives of others at risk.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission