A viral video shows coronavirus deniers urging a doctor to discharge an older patient on a respirator. The doctor ultimately summons security to force the conspiracy theorists out of the hospital.
The video, posted to Reddit’s r/PublicFreakout page, shows the patient has removed his oxygen tube and is demanding to be taken home. A doctor warns the patient that he will die “within half an hour” if he leaves.
According to 7news.com.au, the event that occurred in Surrey, England, on Jan. 21, was filmed by conspiracy theorist Tobe Hayden Leigh, who isn’t related to the patient.
“He’s going to die if you don’t put it back on,” says the doctor, though the patient doesn’t believe it. The doctor reiterates to the man, “If you go home, you will die.”
The doctor informs an onlooker that the older man has double pneumonia caused by the coronavirus and is on steroids and antibiotics. Leigh accuses doctors of distorting the patient’s COVID-19 diagnosis and criticizes their care methods while suggesting vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc as cures for the virus.
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“‘None of those are proven treatments for coronavirus,” the doctor answers. (While there is some evidence that a combination of the particular vitamins may help prevent severe cases, there is no evidence that they could cure an extreme case of the coronavirus.)
The coronavirus deniers are forcibly removed by hospital security. Another doctor tells Leigh that the patient can’t leave, but the conspiracy theorist pushes against the idea, asserting that the older man can’t be held against his will.
According to 7news.com.au, the Surrey police said in a statement “officers issued fines to two individuals involved for breaching COVID restrictions and issued a breach of the peace warning which resulted in the group leaving the location.” Police said an investigation is ongoing.
Per the U.K. government’s coronavirus website, more than 8,692 people died in the nation from coronavirus between Jan. 20 and Tuesday.
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