A viral TikTok video appears to show dancing nurses carrying a mock corpse of a COVID-19 patient down a vacant hospital hallway.
The video, posted by TikTok user Joed Marie Laboy Des, quickly went viral Wednesday on social media.
Nurses, decked out in personal protective equipment, or PPE, appear to be re-creating a play on a viral coronavirus “coffin” meme, which apparently originated at an African funeral.
TikTok videos of nurses and healthcare professionals performing choreographed dances and goofy skits has become commonplace in the age of COVID-19.
Though COVID hotspots are buried with testing and coronavirus patients, many pop-up hospitals, expanded ICU units, and non-COVID sections and facilities are far below capacity.
Mass layoffs of tens of thousands, if not well over 100,000 health care workers at this point, has become an unintended consequence of lockdown measures.
This is stunning: Nearly half of the Q1 decline in GDP can be attributed to healthcare, which is presumably delaying of elective procedures.
It's a strange reality that in the midst of a pandemic, we have a healthcare-led recession. pic.twitter.com/G3IezQkEzX
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) April 29, 2020
“As highlighted by both The New York Times and The Associated Press, hospitals and health care facilities across the nation have delayed so-called elective surgeries and non-COVID-19 related medical actions in preparation for the predicted onslaught of novel coronavirus patients, mostly by state order,” The Daily Wire reported April 6.
“Tens of thousands of medical workers across the United States are suddenly out of work as operating rooms and doctor’s offices go dark, casualties of urgent calls to prioritize coronavirus patients at overwhelmed hospitals and of the economic waves the crisis is churning,” The Associated Press reported earlier this month. “Big-city physician and specialist groups, tiny independent hospitals from Oregon to Connecticut, and big multistate hospital systems such as Steward Health Care are seeing big dropoffs in revenue and laying off or furloughing hundreds of workers.”
Two weeks ago, the Mayo Clinic announced that they are cutting $1.6 billion in pay after taking a stunning $3 billion revenue loss triggered by delays to so-called elective surgeries and non-COVID-19 related medical actions in preparation for the predicted onslaught of novel coronavirus patients, mostly by state order, The Daily Wire reported.
Moreover, Quest Diagnostics, ironically leading the way in testing for the novel coronavirus, announced their plan to lay off thousands, too, again the result of the COVID-19 response.
According to a HealthLandscape and American Academy of Family Physicians report released this month, nearly 20,000 family practices will shutter or scale back, with 260,000 of their employees getting pink slips or taking pay and hourly cuts. By the end of June, the report said, an estimated 60,000 family practices are expected to close or downgrade, with a stunning 800,000 of their employees being laid off or taking pay and hourly cuts.
According to Vox, hundreds of hospitals could close due to our COVID-19 response policies: “Hospitals have taken huge revenue losses as they postpone elective surgeries and other routine care so they can make more staff and space available for the Covid-19 response,” Vox acknowledged. “Some hospitals expect to lose half their income, and the top industry trade groups have warned that hundreds of hospitals could close after this crisis.”
WATCH:
The corona tik tok nurse videos cannot get any wor… pic.twitter.com/vVNjbX5cNm
— ESSENTIAL Julia Song (@realjuliasong) April 29, 2020
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