An Oregon health care network says it has placed a nurse on administrative leave after she shared a video on social media where she bragged about flouting basic public health measures that help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon, Salem Health said it had placed the nurse on administrative leave pending an investigation after learning of the video.
According to KPTV-TV in Salem, Oregon, the Washington Post and BuzzFeed News, the unidentified nurse originally shared the video on TikTok. Though the nurse later deleted the video, other TikTok users have since used her clip in a side-by-side "duet" video, and screen recordings of the original video have also gone viral on other platforms.
The original TikTok shows the female nurse, clad in blue scrubs and a stethoscope, lip-syncing a scene from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," starring Jim Carey.
"When my co workers find out I still travel, dont wear a mask when I am out and let my kids have play dates," her caption read.
Several social media users identified the nurse and alerted Salem Health. Others criticized the nurse on social media.
"Imagine being an oncology nurse during a pandemic and bragging about not taking precautions," one TikTok user said in a duet video.
@amandabutcher2 To each their own, but why would you brag about it to others? 🤦🏻♀️ I guess we could ask Loveiskind05 #nurse #covid #health #pandemic #fyp #foryou
The nurse's video comes as COVID-19 spreads like wildfire in Oregon and across the country. In the last three days, Oregon has recorded more COVID-19 infections than in any other three-day stretch throughout the pandemic, according to a database kept by Johns Hopkins.
Across the country, more than 4 million people in the U.S. have contracted COVID-19 in the month of November alone — a figure that represents 30% of all cases since the pandemic began.
Health officials warn that cases could spike further in the coming weeks after millions of Americans traveled to attend large indoor Thanksgiving gatherings in recent days.