It is no longer new to hear the news that people were dying because of COVID-19, but what makes it shocking is that people died because of the COVID-19 restrictions themselves.
A 56-year-old man was stricken with a heart attack, but paramedics allegedly refused to enter the acute-care facility where he was taken ill, out of fear of COVID-19.
Paramedics in Southern California allegedly refused to enter a long-term care facility, claiming it was against the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, as a patient went into cardiac arrest.
The staff workers at the Rialto Post Acute Care Center in Rialto, California, called 911 shortly before 8 p.m. local time. First responders from the Rialto Fire Department responded to the scene, including Rialto Police Officer Ralph Ballew, who filed the report. However; body camera footage shows paramedics wearing masks and standing outside the premises of the care facility. The officer went into the facility to explain to nurses that paramedics couldn’t enter due to some “state COVID guideline.”
Watch it here: Fox 11/Youtube
According to Officer Ralph Ballew who was dispatched to Rialto Post Acute Care Center:
“I was informed due to an unspecified COVID-19 law, fire personnel was prohibited from entering the facility and the patient needed to be brought outside. Despite being in their line of sight ire personnel still insisted on (the patient) being brought to them outside before they began life saving efforts and made no effort to assist me in getting (the patient) outside.”
In the video, a nurse is seen administering CPR on the patient with other medical staff alongside the bed. Ballew proceeded to help the nurses to push the bed, which had no wheels, out the front door to the waiting first responders, who took over from the nurse to administer care. The patient was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
“It is difficult to watch the tape,” Ed Scott, a city councilor in Rialto.
Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson called for a “thorough investigation” at a city council meeting last week.
“We want to have a thorough investigation, and the actions [of the paramedics], if they were not in any way in keeping with policy, or even if it was, it will be addressed,” Robertson said.
Paramedics allegedly claimed there was a state law that kept them from entering, but no such law is in place. However, according to reports, there was an outdated memo that circulated more than a year ago during the height of the pandemic, advising paramedics to minimize their exposure to COVID-19.
“I, frankly, was appalled,” Deputy Mayor Ed Scott told Inside Edition. “It’s just horrific to think that your last moments — the help you needed might not be there. Our officer frankly deserves a medal for going in and getting the patient out.”
The paramedics who were involved have been placed on leave pending an outside investigation.
Sources: WeLoveTrump, The Blaze, Inside Edition, EMS, Yahoo Sports