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- An oncology nurse in Salem, Oregon, bragged in a TikTok video that she’d been traveling, not wearing masks, and not abiding by COVID-19 rules.
- The video went viral and she lost her job; her former employer, Salem Health, did not specify whether she quit or was fired.
- Some people have refused to follow guidelines designed to help limit the spread of COVID-19, like wearing face coverings when in public and staying at least six feet apart from others.
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An oncology nurse who in a viral TikTok video bragged about traveling, not wearing masks outside of work, and generally disregarding COVID-19 guidelines is no longer employed at the Oregon hospital where she worked, CNN reported.
In a now-deleted TikTok, which has been reposted by at least one other user, Ashley Grames appears to be screaming while wearing scrubs and a stethoscope, according to CNN. A caption reads: “When my coworkers find out I still travel, don’t wear a mask when I am out, and let my kids have playdates.”
Grames worked at Salem Health, in Salem, Oregon. The hospital did not say whether she had quit or was fired but a spokesperson told BuzzFeed: “The nurse in question is no longer employed with Salem Health.”
CNN reported that she was initially placed on administrative leave after the hospital learned about the video in late November.
In a Facebook post after the video went viral, Salem Health called Grames’ comments a “cavalier disregard for the seriousness of this pandemic and her indifference towards physical distancing and masking outside of work.”
Grames responded to the events that have unfolded since she posted the video of herself on TikTok.
"I would like to set the record straight, I was not terminated; I took a leave of absence. I am focusing on the next chapter in my life which is going back to school," she wrote in a Facebook post.
The Oregonian reported Grames had agreed to stop being a nurse for an unspecified amount of time under an "Interim Orders by Consent," agreement. The agreement is not disciplinary but will be effective until the Oregon State Board of Nursing decides to allow Grames to practice again.
Cases of the novel coronavirus all across the US are on the rise and public health experts have warned that the country is in the deadliest wave yet. Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed with patients who have contracted the virus and in some cases, medical facilities are short-staffed as healthcare worker get sick themselves.
The US has had over 15 million COVID-19 infections with more than 285,000 deaths so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.