Four men have been banned from every hospital in England after videotaping Worcestershire hospitals at the height of the pandemic, claiming the effects of Covid-19 had been overstated.
A criminal investigation was opened after videos appeared online while they were being filmed at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.
Hospitals in Worcester and Kidderminster were also on view before the footage was deleted.
On January 12th, police announced the arrest of two men aged 31 and 34 from Bromsgrove, a 34 year old from Droitwich and another 27 year old from Kidderminster, all in Worcestershire, on suspicion of to cause public nuisance.
The men were interviewed regarding filming in the hospitals as well as in Bromsgrove town center and a park in the city, all of which are said to have occurred between December 31, 2020 and January 9 of this year.
The videos were filmed at the peak of the NHS ‘exposure, and just days after the arrests, the UK daily death toll hit a record high of 1,820 within 28 days of a positive Covid test on Jan. 20.
West Mercia Police said people can now only go to hospitals for medical reasons, under the terms of community protection notices given to each of them.
West Mercia Police Department Inspector Lee Page said: “In the early days of 2021, at the height of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the NHS was on the verge of being overwhelmed.
West Mercia Police received numerous complaints from concerned members of the public and medical staff about the actions of a group of people streaming live from hospital locations in Worcestershire protesting that the pandemic was a hoax.
“The men did not wear face-covering or social distancing themselves, and some of them challenged hospital staff, accusing them of spreading fake news and claiming there was no national emergency and pandemic.”
“The behavior of these people disrupted the operation of hospitals, tied up valuable resources, and caused alarm and despair among patients and staff, some of whom made official complaints to the police.
“As a result of their activities, West Mercia Police Department issued written warnings to all four people under Part 4 of the Anti-Social-Behavior Crime and Policing Act 2014.
“These warnings directed them not to enter any hospital in England unless for medical reasons and prohibited a range of other anti-social activities.
“In addition, the officers reported all those involved to fines for violations of health protection regulations.
“I hope this case underscores that we will not hesitate to take enforcement action to keep the public safe, even though everyone is entitled to freedom of expression if it adversely affects the health of NHS staff, patients and others.” the wider community. ”