Covid-19 health workers faced over 400 acts of violence in 2020, report finds

A health NGO said there were over 1,000 insults, beatings and arrests against health care workers, with nearly half directly related to the coronavirus

About 80 per cent of the perpetrators were civilians, but threats also came from public authorities

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Nurses take part in a march on February 7 to demand that officials provide security for them after two nurses were attacked by the family of a deceased Covid-19 patient. Photo: AP

Published: 5:47pm, 2 Mar 2021Updated: 5:52pm, 2 Mar 2021

Insults, beatings, arrests – health workers battling the coronavirus were subjected to more than 400 acts of violence related to Covid-19 worldwide in 2020, according to a report published on Tuesday by a health NGO.

The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition unveiled an interactive map that shows 1,172 violent acts and attacks occurred against health workers or facilities last year, “a minimum estimate”, according to the NGO.

More than a third (412) of the acts are directly related to Covid-19, it said, citing several examples including in Mexico, where a nurse was attacked and injured by a group accusing her of spreading the virus.

A burned-out coronavirus testing facility in the fishing village of Urk in the Netherlands after it was set on fire the night before by rioting youths protesting on the first night of a nationwide curfew. Photo: AP

In Dakar, three social workers had stones hurled at them by residents who refused to have a coronavirus victim buried near their homes.

In Birmingham, England, a health worker was spat at and insulted by a neighbour.