A UK doctor has been left “disgusted” after witnessing a crowd of anti-maskers chanting “COVID is a hoax” outside a London hospital.
Dr Matthew Lee shared video footage of the astonishing scene, which played out outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London on New Year’s Eve.
The crowd gathered with little regard for social distancing measures while no one present was wearing a mask.
It came as Covid-19 case numbers in the UK continued to rise sharply with London one of the worst affected areas in the country.
Ireland is also beginning to see an uptick in the number of positive tests and deaths recorded with the Government taking steps stem the flow of the virus.
Anti-mask and anti-lockdown sentiment has been rife in Ireland, with Dublin witnessing several demonstrations as well as a sit-in protest by those opposed to the measures.
Worked the late A&E SHO shift on NYE and came out to this. Hundreds of maskless, drunk people in huge groups shouting "Covid is a hoax", literally outside the building where hundreds are sick and dying. Why do people still not realise the seriousness of this pandemic? pic.twitter.com/KTkCtNf62A
— Matthew Lee (@mbklee_) January 1, 2021
In the instance of the scenes that played out in London, Dr Lee suspects many of those in attendance were under the influence of alcohol.
Writing alongside the video, the junior doctor said: “Worked the late A&E SHO shift on NYE and came out to this.
“Hundreds of maskless, drunk people in huge groups shouting ‘Covid is a hoax’, literally outside the building where hundreds are sick and dying.
“Why do people still not realise the seriousness of this pandemic?
“I’m disgusted but mostly heartbroken. I wish people could see the amount of #COVID19 and death in hospitals, and the sacrifices that healthcare workers make. This week alone has been so tough.
“Their ignorance is hurting others. I really wish people would keep themselves safe.”
The shocking footage has since gone viral, sparking reactions from a number of celebrities on Twitter including Piers Morgan, who branded the behaviour of those in the clip as “disgusting”.
“These morons shame Britain,” he said.
“If it’s a hoax, let’s take all these imbeciles inside the covid ward without PPE. See how brave they feel when confronted with the reality of people choking to death.”
