Healthcare worker shames Covid-positive patient she tested – then saw out shopping

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A healthcare worker has gone viral after posting a TikTok video in which she lambasts a Covid-positive patient she apparently tested earlier in the day – then saw out shopping.

TikTok user @eliicoco, masked and pictured in blue scrubs, shot the video at an undisclosed Ross location, writing, “When you see the patient that you swabed (sic) earlier who tested positive for Covid in the line at Ross” accompanied by a crying emoji.

Set the soundtrack of Coolio’s 90s hit Gangsta’s Paradise, she added: “I told you to stay home and recover sis.”

The wildly contagious coronavirus variant Omicron has been sweeping the US in recent weeks as authorities beg Americans to stay home if they test positive or even have symptoms.

It’s not clear where the TikTok video was taken and the healthcare worker took care not to identify the patient in the footage.

The CDC last week shortened the recommended isolation time for coronavirus patients from 10 days to five, amid a surge in cases. However, Dr Anthony Fauci suggested a testing requirement on day five was being discussed.

“People with Covid-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimise the risk of infecting people they encounter,” the CDC’s new guidance said.

“The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.”