A YOUNG DOCTOR has been labelled a hero after confronting a family of Covid-19 conspiracy theorists.
Footage emerged on social media yesterday of the tense encounter, which saw the doctor prevent the family from taking an elderly relative of theirs, who is seriously ill with coronavirus, out of hospital.
The British doctor can be seen calmly, but sternly, telling the family that if they removed one of his Covid patients from the ward, he was going to die.
"What are you doing with him? My main concern is his safety, and at the moment you are making him unsafe," the doctor says.
"You've taken his oxygen off, he's going to die if we don't put it back on."
The patient can then be heard saying: "No I'm not."
The family - who expressed doubt over the gravity and existence of Covid-19 - can be heard claiming that they'd been left in the dark and "lied to" by the hospital about the elderly man's condition.
"Yesterday he went off the radar. The hospital have been lying to all the family," one man tells the doctor.
"Since he's been moved from AMU (Acute Medical Unit), none of the family has been consulted. What's his medical condition?"
The doctor went on to explain: "It is against the law, you've put yourselves all at risk. We need to step outside. If you go home, you will die.
"He has coronavirus pneumonia affecting both of his lungs, he's on steroids called dexamethasone, he's on antibiotics to treat concurrent bacterial infections. OK? That's the treatment he's on."
The family explained that they wanted the patient to be taken off steroid and antibiotic treatment, and to replace it with "Vitamin C, Vitamin D and zinc".
The doctor responded: "None of these are proven treatments for coronavirus. However, antibiotics and steroid are."
Security eventually had to be called to remove the family.
On social media, the doctor was roundly praised for his actions and the manner in which he protected his patient.
"Sending solidarity to whoever the doctor is managing this incredibly distressing situation so calmly. This is what disinformation causes," one user wrote.
