Nurse in Quebec fakes symptoms, French accent to get tested for coronavirus
A nurse in Canada said she had to fake symptoms in order to get tested for the coronavirus — and her results came back positive.
Kristy-Lyn Kemp said she called a hotline in Quebec to request a test on Sunday, and was turned away even after explaining that she’d worked at a care home experiencing an outbreak, the CBC reported.
“I told them I was coming from a COVID-positive environment, but I was completely asymptomatic. They told me I didn’t need a test,” Kemp told the outlet.
Baffled, she called back, faking a French accent so they wouldn’t suspect she was the same person.
“I made up symptoms. I said I had a fever and a cough. And that’s when they gave me an appointment,” Kemp said.
Her results came back positive about 24 hours later.
Kemp said she wanted to be tested because she feared starting an outbreak of COVID-19 at her new job, for a care home in Lachine.
“Had I brought it to the new place, I don’t know what I would have done. I would have been absolutely devastated,” Kemp said.
Kemp got the new gig after resigning from her post at a private long-term care home in Dorval — which was taken over by the government last month when its owners asked for help with the outbreak.
At least 33 residents at CHSLD Résidence Herron died of complications from the virus, and the facility is now the subject of at least three separate inquiries, including a criminal investigation by Montreal police, according to the report.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said screening priorities are for symptomatic health professionals in direct contact with patients. Staffers at CHSLD Résidence Herron are tested, with or without symptoms, he said.
Kemp said she didn’t understand how she was able to fall through the cracks.
“The consequences could have been catastrophic,” she said.
She now has to wait until she has two back-to-back negative COVID-19 tests before starting her new job.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/11/nurse-in-quebec-fakes-symptoms-accent-to-get-tested-for-coronavirus/
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Child in Georgia fatally shoots brother with gun found in woods
GRIFFIN, Ga. — A 5-year-old boy fatally shot his 12-year-old brother with a gun he found in the woods over the weekend, according to authorities in Georgia.
Griffin police found the 12-year-old suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest on Saturday evening, the department said in a statement. First responders performed CPR and the boy was taken to a hospital where he later died.
The victim and his siblings, ages 5 and 7, were in the woods when the 5-year-old found the gun, according to the statement. Special investigators spoke to the child and determined he thought it was a toy when he fired it, striking his brother.
Officers had searched an area near where the gun was found earlier Saturday after suspects fled a traffic stop nearby, police said. A bag of suspected drugs was discovered, but no gun was found at the time.
In their statement Sunday, Griffin police said the shooting was likely a “tragic accident” and officers would now investigate who discarded the weapon.
“We will diligently pursue and charge any other parties responsible for the actions leading up to the apparent abandonment of this weapon allowing for access by these innocent children,” officials said.
The gun was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for an analysis, authorities added.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/12/child-in-georgia-fatally-shot-brother-with-gun-found-in-woods/
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Florida cop drove over 66-year-old beachgoer, investigators say
A 66-year-old man was injured at a Florida beach on Friday after a police officer drove a cruiser over him, investigators said.
William Koziarz of Michigan was laying on a beach in Indian Shores when the officer, driving a fully marked 2018 Ford Explorer, ran him over, according to a press release from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
The officer was 27-year-old Natasha Hindman of the Indian Shores Police Department. She had reportedly just started her beach patrol.
“As Officer Hindman drove along the sand at low speed, the left side tires of her cruiser drove over the hips of 66-year-old William Koziarz, who was lying on the sand,” the sheriff’s office said.
Hinman immediately stopped to render aid until the paramedics arrived.
Koziarz was transported to Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg with “serious, but non-life threatening injuries.”
Officer Hindman was not injured in the incident. It was not immediately clear what led to the crash.
An investigation is ongoing.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/11/florida-police-officer-drove-over-66-year-old-beachgoer/
Photo Credit: newsweek
Woman drives over gravestones at Houston cemetery on Mother’s Day
A woman trying to beat traffic after a flyover to honor the end of World War II ran over multiple gravestones on her way out of Houston National Cemetery, video shows.
Amanda Hill, who was at the cemetery Sunday for the event by the Lone Star Museum, said an unidentified woman behind the wheel of a red SUV made a heartless dash for the exit just after the event.
“She tried to back up, and then went up on the curb of the section where my grandparents are buried,” Hill told KTRK. “[The woman] couldn’t get around some cars and then she started running over the graves.”
While trying to get around traffic inside the cemetery, the woman “went over dozens of graves,” Hill said, prompting several witnesses nearby to yell out for her to stop, the station reports.
“I was shocked, and never would have expected that to happen,” witness Jeremiah Johnston said. “This is Houston, and there are crazy drivers, and I never would have expected to see them going through a cemetery – especially when everyone was there to pay their respects during a patriotic flyover.”
The female motorist, who was not identified as of Monday, had her window down at the time and heard onlookers telling her to stop, according to Hill, whose mother tried to block the woman from driving onto her grandparents’ graves.
“My mom stood in front of the van, and finally had to jump out of the way, because she was going to hit her,” Hill said, adding that the woman knew she was being photographed but “didn’t care” about possible repercussions.
The vehicle was a Dodge SUV, KPRC reports.
The incident was reported to authorities early Monday and charges could be filed by the end of the day, the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office said.
“It’s under investigation,” Sgt. Cinthya Umanzor told The Post.
No gravestones or markers were damaged during the incident, the Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday.
“Houston National Cemetery was appalled by the level of disgrace shown by a driver on the grounds of the cemetery on May 10,” VA spokesperson Jessic Jacobsen said in a statement to The Post. “Fortunately, no gravestones or markers were damaged, and VA is working with local authorities to identify the driver so proper legal action can be taken. VA’s national cemeteries are shrines and we expect all visitors to treat them accordingly.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/11/woman-drives-over-graves-at-houston-national-cemetery-video/
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Neighbor says he’s ‘not proud’ of filming Ahmaud Arbery shooting
The Georgia man who filmed the shooting death of unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery says he’s “not proud” he did so — but he hopes it “helps in the end.”
William “Roddie” Bryan, whose cellphone footage of the Feb. 23 incident sparked national outrage, told “Good Morning America” he has “tons of regrets” over the incident.
“Yeah, I wish I hadn’t been there,” Bryan told the ABC-TV show Tuesday. “But, once again, if I hadn’t have been there, there’d be no video.”
“If the video wasn’t there, I don’t think there would be an outcome that anybody would be satisfied with,” he said.
“I’m not proud that I shot the video, but maybe it helps in the end.”
Arbery, 25, was shot during an encounter with Travis McMichaels, 34, and his 64-year-old father, Gregory McMichaels, a former cop and retired investigator with the local district attorney’s office.
Both men told police they believed Arbery was a burglar and sought to detain him for police. But Travis McMichaels shot and killed Arbery with a shotgun during a struggle.
No charges were filed in the case until this month, when Bryan’s video was made public, sparking an outcry for justice that led to murder charges against the father and son.
The charges were filed by the Georgia Bureau of
of Investigation, a state agency, after local prosecutors recused themselves over their ties to the elder McMichael.
On Monday, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who asked federal prosecutors to investigate the circumstances of Arbery’s shooting death, appointed a new state prosecutor to the case.
Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes is the third state prosecutor on the case, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Also Monday, the US Department of Justice said it would weigh federal hate crime charges in the case, which could carry the death penalty.
“There’s tons of regrets,” Bryan said on “GMA.” “Can I sit here and tell you what they all are? No. I regret that the family lost a loved one. That’s not just something that should’ve happened.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/12/man-says-hes-not-proud-of-filming-ahmaud-arbery-shooting/
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A 38-Year-Old Brazilian Man Has Just Discovered He Has Three Kidneys
In a rare incident, it was found that a man has three kidneys instead of two.
The person, who is 38 years old, consulted the doctor after he was suffering from severe lower backache. According to a report in Times Now, the person’s name is Rim in São Paulo and he is based out of Brazil.
The doctors had done a CT scan of his back area in order to diagnose the cause of the ache. In the scan, it was seen that the man had suffered from a slip disc. But this was not something that shook the doctors as the same is quite common.
What left them surprised was the fact that the person had three and not two kidneys. The report states that Rim’s left kidney was normal while the one on right had two fused kidneys around the pelvis area.
The report has quoted The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), which mentions that the said person did not have any symptoms of a kidney problem and all other organs in his body appeared to function normally as well.
If the report is to be believed, then this condition is suspected to have arisen during embryonic development. But because there are no particular symptoms that are caused, one does not know about such a condition until they discover it by chance.
This person too did not need any special care for his extra kidney and was only given painkiller medicine for his backache.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/xandr/38-old-brazilian-man-just-075634774.html
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A man drove over 500 miles to deliver N95 masks to his sister who is a nurse
Joshua Yajcaji, 30, drove over 500 miles to bring his older sister protective equipment to the hospital where she works.
Alexis Schulman, 34, is a nurse — among the health workers who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. Like many working in hospitals, Schulman and her colleagues were tight on their supply of protective gear. On its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls shortages in protective gear for health care personnel “a tremendous challenge to the US healthcare system.”
Yajcaji wanted to help — so he encouraged Vivint Solar, the company where he works, to donate 395 N95 masks to Cone Health’s Green Valley Campus in High Point, North Carolina, where Schulman works. The hospital is dedicated to treating Covid-19 patients.
The masks were initially bought to protect the workers at Vivint Solar. But after learning that simple face coverings would suffice for its workers as they installed solar panels, the New Jersey-based company decided to donate them to those more in need.
“My sister being in that hospital swayed my mind a bit, but for that hospital to change to a strictly Covid hospital made me make that decision,” Yajcaji told CNN.
A simple FedEx delivery would have been quick and easy, but instead, Yajcaji and his lifelong friend, Corey Vafiadis, set out at 3 a.m. last Thursday to drive 530 miles to North Carolina.
“I haven’t seen my sister in years,” Yajcaji said. “To personally bring it down with something to bring us together (let’s me) show personally I’ll always be there for her.”
Schulman knew that her brother was coming, thanks to a little birdie named mom — but that didn’t make the gesture any less heartfelt, she said.
“I wasn’t surprised. He always does things for people and giving the shirt off his back to make sure they’re taken care of,” Schulman told CNN. “Three hundred and fifty masks mean we can be well protected for another several weeks.”
After Yajcaji passed on the box of masks to his sister, the siblings shared a socially distanced hug. And then Yajcaji and his friend hit the road again to drive back 530 miles to New Jersey.
While the 1,060-mile round trip was long and tiring, Yajcaji said he would do it all over again if he could.
“My sister is my life,” he said. “She’s always been a caring person and now that she found her career as a nurse, she can’t shut up about it. She’s found a real passion for it.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy Joshua Yajcaji
A woman was caught on camera masturbating while half-naked in a Chinese IKEA store prompted stricter security
The two-minute pornographic clip shows the unidentified woman wearing just a white shirt as she pleasures herself in various sections of the store.
As other shoppers walk by, the woman initially sat on a chair, touching herself as she thrust her butt toward the camera.
She then sat on a bed with her legs spread wide — at one point seeming to catch the eye of some guys walking past — before taking off her shirt in a more secluded spot in the store.
After going viral, the X-rated footage was soon scrubbed from Chinese social media — but with interest so high, even the Swedish furniture giant’s response got 9 million views, according to Agence France-Presse.
With nobody wearing a face mask, it is also assumed that the pornographic clip was filmed before the coronavirus outbreak, which brought China to a standstill from late January. The pandemic had forced IKEA to temporarily close stores around the world, including all 50 in its second-biggest market, the United States.
“This woman is so brave, I don’t understand, [she’s] just doing it in broad daylight,” read one Weibo post that gained more than 8,000 likes.
“There are so many people around, I just don’t understand,” another wrote.
It is not the first explicit video to cause a stir on China’s tightly controlled social media platforms, AFP noted.
A Beijing branch of the Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo became infamous in 2015 after a clip of a couple having sex in one of its changing rooms went viral.
Police arrested five people, including the young couple in the video, over the matter, while Uniqlo firmly denied that it was a publicity stunt.
The clip “severely violated socialist core values,” the Chinese Cyberspace Administration said at the time.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/11/ikea-masturbation-incident-forces-company-to-tighten-security/
Photo Credit: asiawire
Nurse dies two weeks after rushing without N95 mask to save coronavirus patient
A Los Angeles nurse succumbed to coronavirus just two weeks after rushing without an N95 mask into an infected patient’s room to save his life, according to a report.
Celia Marcos, 61, was only protected by a surgical mask when she gave chest compressions to a man who stopped breathing at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Marcos texted her niece about how she was the “one right in front of his face,” knowing that she’d likely exposed herself to the virus, according to the report.
“Celia was called to a COVID-19 isolation room while wearing only a surgical mask — not the required N95 respirator, gown, face shield, and booties that her hospital should have given her for her protection,” said Nina Wells, who is the president of the SEIU 121RN, a Southern California nurses union, in a statement to the newspaper.
Colleagues said that Marcos had known that going to obtain PPE would waste valuable time that could potentially save the patient’s life, the outlet reported.
“The hospital wasn’t giving us appropriate PPE — the N95s were locked,” a nurse told the outlet.
Three days later, Marcos fell sick with the virus and later told her family that she developed pneumonia in both lungs, the outlet reported.
Marcos, who was previously healthy, went into cardiac arrest as she battled the virus, requiring resuscitation of her multiple times, the newspaper reported.
She died on April 17, just two weeks after she put her life at risk to save the patient, according to the report.
“It’s just too painful for everybody, what happened to her,” her colleague told the outlet.
The hospital has denied that Marcos didn’t have the proper PPE to treat the patient.
“Despite these efforts, and our commitment to following all guidelines, we still lost one of our own to this terrible virus, and we feel this loss very deeply,” the hospital said in a statement to the newspaper.
Photo Credit: facebook
Mount Sinai nurse who sounded the alarm about an inadequate supply of PPE by posting a photo of her colleagues wearing trash bags for gowns was called a “piece of s–t” and told to “shut the f–k up” by a top rep in her own union, emails show
Diane Torres, 33, a registered nurse at Mount Sinai West Hospital who posted the now viral photo on Facebook, was begging for supplies and information back in February but was continually rebuffed by hospital management, emails she sent to her union reps show.
By mid-March, Torres was infuriated by the continued lack of gear and that she wasn’t receiving adequate help from the union, so she posted the photo of her colleagues wearing the makeshift, Hefty-fashioned protective garb.
“NO MORE GOWNS IN THE WHOLE HOSPITAL,” Torres, a mom of three, wrote in the post.
When Torres’s picture got out and made it on the front page of The Post, New York State Nurses Association boss Terry Alaimo slammed her in an email to multiple union members and claimed her outcry was baseless.
“Diane is full of shit and has no F–king [idea] what is really going on… Tell Diane to shut the f–k up and if she has an issue to call me. She is not helping and I am sure she is not working. She is a useless piece of sh-t,” Alaimo, a NYSNA area director for the Mount Sinai System, wrote in the email obtained by The Post.
“Feel free to share,” Alaimo wrote at the end of the email.
Torres, who’s been toiling on the frontlines of the crisis for the last two months and previously served as an elected union delegate, said, “How dare she?”
“I’m useless because I’m trying to do whatever I can to help us? Because I’m afraid, because I’m concerned for my coworkers, for myself, for my family members?” Torres railed.
“They were angry at me because I was trying so hard. How could someone be so angry at me and hate me so much for trying to do the right thing during such difficult times?”
Torres claims she was given a single mask, gown and face shield that she was forced to use for the entire shift, even as she treated non-COVID patients in her acute rehabilitation unit.
“Prior to COVID, everything that comes into contact with the patient that’s contagious cannot leave that room and cannot be used on anyone else. Every piece that you’re wearing needs to be thrown out, it was never made or meant to be reused,” Torres said.
But once the pandemic hit, Torres had to take off the gear, hang it up, and then put it back on repeatedly as she switched between COVID and non-COVID patients, which put her and patients at risk, Torres said. She sent photos to The Post from March 26 showing her gown hanging up as she made rounds between patients.
“We became ‘unknown’ vectors of the virus and are spreading it to those we were suppose [sic] to keep healthy,” Torres told a union rep back on March 18, text messages show.
Mount Sinai Hospital said in a statement that Torres’s allegations are “not accurate” and “anyone moving from COVID to non-COVID always had to replace PPE to ensure no patients or areas were contaminated” and they “always follow CDC guidelines and policies.”
She added it was a “constant battle” to get supplies and when she requested them, she had to give an explanation as to why she needed it.
Alaimo, who earned $162,870 last year in her role according to public records, also asked about the “absolute minimum PPE” nurses needed, even as a slew of healthcare workers were getting sick and dying from the virus, messages from Alaimo show.
“Can someone let us know what you think is the absolute minimum PPE you can work with at the beginning of each shift and we will forward to them,” the message reads.
NYSNA spokesperson Carl Ginsburg downplayed Alaimo’s comments as just a “feud between two people” and said the remarks “in no way characterizes the relationship between NYSNA and its nurse members.”
Ginsburg further noted Alaimo’s comments about PPE were related to guidelines “made permissible” by the Centers for Disease Control, which lowered the PPE bar to “crisis-level” as a result of the pandemic’s magnitude.
But Torres said pointing fingers did not keep her or her colleagues safe. She believes the death of nurse manager Kious Kelly, who died on March 24, could’ve been prevented if he had proper PPE when the virus first struck. His sister previously echoed those same comments to The Post.
Ginsburg said there continues to be a lack of adequate PPE and hospitals, along with local and federal governments, need to do more to protect healthcare workers, especially as an inevitable second wave of the virus looms in the future.
In a statement, Mount Sinai Hospital said they “have always provided the proper PPE to our staff and strictly followed the CDC guidelines.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated countless lives and families and while our heroes on the frontlines continue to save lives, we will continue do everything in our power to ensure they are protected and supported as best we possibly can,” the hospital statement said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/11/nurse-who-complained-about-lack-of-ppe-told-to-shut-the-f-k-up/
Photo Credit: Matthew McDermott