Asian nurse on frontlines of fighting coronavirus harassed on way to work

While on her way to work a shift at a hospital, Reizel Angela, a British nurse of Asian descent, encountered the same sort of attack and verbal harassment faced by many Asians worldwide during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a Facebook post and accompanying video that has since garnered around 44,000 reactions, Angela said a man pushed her by elbowing her rib as his female companion shouted, “At least we are Whites you f*cking c*nt.”

Angela added that she was going to the hospital to complete an overtime night shift as it was far understaffed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Many healthcare professionals are “on the frontline” with limited staff and resources and finding their work dangerous, she said.

“I dare anyone who doesn’t work in the healthcare environment to come and observe just ONE day in the hospital,” Angela’s post read, “and watch healthcare workers literally struggle to deal with immense pressures that come with staff shortages and lack of resources topped off with fear and panic in the environment.”

The attack is part of a rising trend of widespread aggression and hate crimes against Asians.

The nurse said the incident left her feeling disheartened and “mentally shattered.” Angela wrote that she does not plan to seek retaliation for her harassers but that people seeing her post should stand up against any discrimination they witness.

“The coronavirus will go away,” she said in the video. “But discrimination will have its permanent impact.”

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