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Washington ER Doctor Is Fired After Demanding Better Coronavirus Safety Protections

The doctor was terminated Friday afternoon, after gaining publicity over calls for more safety equipment and protective measures.

An emergency room doctor at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, WA was terminated Friday afternoon, after becoming a local champion for the need for safety equipment and worker protections in the face of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Ming Lin had worked at the hospital, the only emergency facility for 250,000 people in the area, for 17 years. Lin had been preparing for his Friday shift when a supervisor called and told him he had been let go, the Seattle Times reported. A week prior, the physician had posted on social media and spoken to reporters about the hospital’s failure to implement urgent precautions for their healthcare workers. When the hospital told him to remove the posts, Lin refused and continued to provide daily updates on Facebook throughout the week. Among his complaints: an overcrowded waiting room, and a refusal to screen patients outside the hospital. Several members of the hospital staff tested positive for the virus last week.