Doctor who flouted COVID-19 rules has license suspended
Dr. Steven LaTulippe regularly told patients that it's dangerous to wear masks
Speaking to a crowd of President Donald Trump supporters on Nov. 7, Dr. Steven LaTulippe proclaimed that “COVID-19 is no more” and despite the coronavirus-related deaths of more than 275,000 people in the U.S., he bragged that neither he nor his staff ever bothered to wear masks when seeing patients at the South View Medical Arts clinic.
“I hate to tell you this, I might scare you, but I and my staff, none of us, once wore a mask in my clinic,” LaTulippe told an exuberant crowd of Trump supporters in Salem, Oregon. “I want to expose what I call ‘corona-mania.'”
Read More: Trump mocks Fox News host Laura Ingraham for wearing mask at rally
According to BuzzFeed News the Oregon Medical Board suspended LaTulippe’s license on Thursday and ordered him “to stop practicing medicine until further order of the Board.” The Board called his actions “a serious danger to the public health or safety.”
The order stated that not only did LaTulippe and his staff refuse to wear masks at the clinic, but they also “urge people who enter the clinic wearing masks to remove their masks.”
Despite scientific evidence that face coverings reduce the risk of spreading the deadly virus, “LaTulippe regularly tells his patients that masks are ineffective in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and should not be worn,” the statement read.
Prior to LaTulippe’s comments at the Nov. 7 rally, many of his patients had already begun to complain about the advice they received from him.
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In one case a patient seeking guidance on when to get tested for the virus reported that the doctor said that asymptomatic people should not be tested and he also told the patient not to self-isolate because being around other people would provide the patient with immunity, according to BuzzFeed. The outlet reported that when the patient raised concerns regarding the doctor’s advice, they were terminated as a patient.
According to the order from the Medical Board, LaTulippe regularly tells patients that it’s dangerous to wear masks and directs them to a YouTube video providing false information about mask wearing.
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