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Dr Steven LaTulippe proclaimed to a crowd of President Trump supporters on November 7 that “COVID-19 is no more” and that, throughout the coronavirus pandemic that has so far killed more than 275,000 people in the United States this year, neither he nor his clinic staff wore a face mask when seeing patients.
“I hate to tell you this. Maybe I could scare you, but I and my staff, none of us, wore masks in my clinic,” LaTulippe told a cheering crowd protesting against the results of the presidential election in Salem, Oregon, where the participants were broadcast. Unfounded and unfounded plots of massive electoral fraud. “I want to exhibit what I call ‘corona-mania’.”
The Oregon Medical Board on Thursday suspended LaTulippe’s license and ordered the family doctor to “cease practicing medicine until further notice from the board,” calling his actions “a serious danger to public health or safety. “.
According to the order, not only did LaTulippe and his staff refuse to wear masks at the South View Medical Arts clinic in Dallas, Oregon, but also, “urge people who enter the clinic wearing masks to remove their masks. masks ”.
“[LaTulippe] routinely tells his patients that masks are ineffective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and should not be worn, “the statement read, despite persistent evidence that face covers reduce the chances of spreading a virus which has so far infected more than 14.4 million people in the United States.
Even before LaTulippe’s comments at the Nov. 7 rally, where he claimed that “the purpose of the deadly virus was to stop the American people,” the state medical board had already received complaints about medical advice that the doctor was giving to patients who were worried about having it. been infected with the new coronavirus.
One patient said he contacted LaTulippe’s advice in early July to find out when and if he should be tested for COVID-19. The patient was told that asymptomatic people should not be tested, that wearing a mask did not prevent the spread of COVID-19, and was told “not to self-isolate because being surrounded by other people would provide patient A with immunity against COVID-19. “
When the patient contacted the clinic on July 23 to question the advice, the order said they were fired as a patient.
When patients ask about COVID-19, LaTulippe “regularly” tells them that it is “very dangerous” to wear a mask and “directs patients to a YouTube video providing false information about wearing the mask,” according to medical advice.
LaTulippe did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment from BuzzFeed News.
His views on COVID-19 gained wider attention after the November 7 rally, which were recorded by Republicans in Multnomah County.
Boasting 20 years of practicing medicine, LaTulippe said during the demonstration that the virus had already mutated and was therefore “no more”.
“We have been completely duped,” he said in front of a crowd waving Trump and American flags and two women holding crucifixes. “I want you to know that this is madness and that the purpose is only to silence the American people. This is a threat to your freedom, a threat to our Constitution. I petition you all, please. take off the mask of shame. It’s just a mask designed to control and stop you. “
Multiple studies have confirmed the effectiveness of face masks in curbing the spread of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged people to wear masks in public places and wherever there are other people.
The Oregon Health Authority and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also require healthcare workers, patients, and staff to wear masks in clinics.
Despite these demands, the medical board noted that an investigator who visited the LaTulippe clinic on December 2 found no patients or staff wearing masks and that there was no procedure. screening for COVID-19 for patients before entering.
There was an article published in the clinic, however, with a section highlighting the claim that 94% of people with severe effects from COVID-19 had “co-morbidities.”
According to the order, LaTulippe can request a hearing to challenge his suspension. It was not immediately clear if he had done so.
His Dallas clinic was closed on Saturday.
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