Threats respond to agency restrictions to curb spread of coronavirus
Ferrer condemned having to "face this level of hatred."
Photo:
Robyn Beck / Getty Images
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, confirmed this Monday that he received death threats in response to restrictions established by your agency to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
In a statement, Ferrer said that the Death threats began last month during a public meeting broadcast on the agency's official Facebook page "when someone casually suggested that I be shot".
"I didn't see the message right away, but my husband did, my children did, and my colleagues did too."Explained the Hispanic, who became the most visible face of the pandemic fight in Los Angeles County, the most populous in the United States.
Since the first cases were registered last March Ferrer has been holding briefings almost daily to report disease progression, control, and restrictions. The doctor explained that it was precisely for protect your computer from similar threats.
"One of the reasons I run these briefings is to protect the Los Angeles extraordinary public health team from these attacks that have been occurring through emails, publications and letters, since March ”, he underlines in the statement.
Ferrer said she was very disappointed and concerned about the situation caused by the restrictions of the coronavirus.
“It is deeply troubling to imagine that our doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, and environmental health specialists who are working hard on infectious diseases, or any of the other members of our team, have to face this level of hatred"He expressed
The Latina would not be the only health director who has had to endure intimidation due to the restrictions in place to contain the virus. The Former Orange County chief of health Nichole Quick, who had issued an order requiring the mandatory use of face masks in that area, resigned after receiving threats.
Orange police officers had to lend protection to Quick for his insistence on keeping the measure.
In this sense, Ferrer recognized the discomfort caused by the imposition of the use of masks in certain sectors, and even compared it when the Seat Belt Use for Drivers in California.
"There were also a lot of rejections. But the data shows that seat belts save lives, and the data also proves that wearing a face covering will help stop the transmission of COVID-19., which will save lives. And that is what drives public health officials and it is our passion: saving lives, ”he concluded.
