Slashed tires and violence: Health care workers face new dangers amid COVID-19 battle

Doctors and nurses across the world are facing new threats of discrimination, attack and abuse as they work on the front line in the battle against coronavirus.

Many of these attacks are allegedly sparked by fear that health care workers are exposing others to the virus.

Giorgio Cometto of the World Health Organization’s health workforce department said hospital workers being “seen as a potential risk, as a potential threat as opposed to being a solution to the current crisis” is a new phenomenon in health care, one that requires specific measures to protect workers, Reuters reported.

Howard Catton, CEO of the International Council of Nurses, said in a news briefing that governments should have a “zero tolerance approach” to abuse and attacks on health care workers, calling for public health messages that are fact-based and clear, according to the outlet.

Here are what perils health care workers across the U.S. and world say they’re facing while fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Tires slashed and ‘hostile’ patients in New York

In Cortlandt, N.Y., nurses had just finished their overnight shifts caring for patients with COVID-19 Friday morning when they found their tires slashed in the parking lot, the Associated Press reported.

New York state police said tires on 22 vehicles were slashed outside New York-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital, according to the outlet. The costs to replace the tires will be covered by the hospital, officials said.

Daniel R. Hall, 29, was arrested and faces charges including criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance, according to the outlet.

The night before, dozens of firefighters and police officers had gathered outside the building to cheer on health care workers, AP reported.

Another doctor in New York told Reuters that he and his staff have been facing violence from patients.

Dr. J.D. Zipkin, associate medical director of Northwell Health - GoHealth Urgent Care centers, said patients have been “hostile” toward workers at front desks, some even trashing their lobbies as well as coughing and spitting on health care workers, he told Reuters. The hospitals have had to increase security.

“I describe it in two ways,” he told the outlet. “One, we’re drinking from the fire hydrant and the other way to describe it is, everything’s on fire and the fire extinguishers are also on fire.”

Attacked over exposure threat in Oklahoma

Health care workers in New York aren’t the only targets.

Oklahoma University Medical Center in Oklahoma City confirmed April 2 that a nurse had been “a victim of an act of violence,” KOKH reported.

Officials did not provide more details on the attack, but they said in a statement that the suspect believed the victim’s role as nurse meant they were exposing others to the coronavirus, according to the outlet.

“Public health emergencies are stressful times for people and communities but unfortunately, today, one of our nurses was a victim of an act of violence in the community while on their way to work,” the statement said, KOKH reported.

Officials added that health care workers receive comprehensive training on protocols and protective equipment as well as ways to protect themselves and others.

“OU Medicine stands in support of all healthcare workers, dedicating their lives to taking care of all of us. We are working with this employee and all of our employees to ensure their safety and appreciate the community’s ongoing support.”

Abusing workers in protective gear in India

On April 1, video emerged out of India showing people in Indore attacking health care workers in personal protective equipment, BBC reported.

“I had never seen scenes like that,” Dr. Zakiya Sayed told the outlet. “It was frightening. We somehow fled from the mob.”

Sayed said her team had information about a person who had potentially been exposed to COVID-19, according to BBC. She said they were talking to the person when residents got agitated and attacked.

“We had no reason to suspect that people would be agitated against medical teams,” she added.

Seven people were ultimately arrested in connection with the incident, BBC reported.

Ambulance driver shot in Philippines

A man in the Quezon province allegedly shot an ambulance driver earlier this month for fear the vehicle was going to spread the virus when it entered a subdivision, the Washington Post reported.

The driver was transporting hospital workers, not coronavirus patients, the Peter Paul Medical Center of Candelaria told the outlet.

The driver suffered a wound to the hand but survived.

Nurses avoiding uniforms in Mexico

Some nurses in Mexico have stopped wearing their uniforms outside of work because suspicion of health care workers is so prevalent amid the pandemic, the Washington Post reported.

Recently, Maria Luisa Castillo — who’s been a nurse for 30 years — was waiting for the bus in her uniform after a shift at Guadalajara’s Civil Hospital. She tried to wave it down, but it would not stop, the Post reported. Instead, it stopped at the next block.

“It was clear they didn’t want to pick me up,” she told the outlet.