Nurse's viral TikTok calls out Trump for downplaying coronavirus threat

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A nurse posted an emotional response to Donald Trump's flippant attitude towards the coronavirus in a viral TikTok video.  

Cristina Hops, who has been working as a nurse on the frontlines of the battle against the coronavirus, said she posted her video after reading the president's exhortation to the nation not to fear the coronavirus.  

"Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life," Mr Trump wrote shortly before he was discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday.  

Ms Hops told CNN that the response infuriated her.  

"When I read that and I got home, I was just so angry about it that I felt like I needed to say something," she said.  

Throughout the video, Ms Hops fights back tears while recalling her experiences as a nurse treating patients with Covid-19.  

She described her harrowing experiences trying to save the lives of those afflicted with the disease.  

"I'm sorry I'm having a mental breakdown over this, but I have done compressions on intubated patients, I have seen hundreds of people suffocating to death," she said. "And for [Mr Trump] to say 'do not be afraid of Covid' is astounding."  

Ms Hops said the president's disregard for the virus' severity disrespects the work that healthcare professionals have done for more than half a year since the onset of the coronavirus in the US.  

"How dare he undermine all of the work that we have done as nurses and healthcare providers and respiratory therapists," she said.  

She does not believe people should live in fear, but she also thinks that the president should be urging caution and setting an example for the country rather than ignoring the still looming threat of the virus.  

"People are going to take [Mr Trump's comments] as everything is ok, and it's not a problem anymore, and that's just not the case," she said. "It's just not true."  

Ms Hops, who is based in Seattle, was sent to Miami, Florida for five weeks over the summer to help a hospital manage a wave of new patients as coronavirus case numbers grew in the south.  

She told CNN that the hospital where she worked was overrun with coroanvirus patients, and that the influx of infected ensured that patients were not receiving the level of care they needed or deserved due to the strain on the facility's resources.  

Ms Hops said she hopes people will understand the severity of the virus and will follow healthcare guidelines to mitigate their risk of exposure.