Colchester Hospital in the UK had to remove COVID-19 deniers who were taking pictures of its empty corridors.

 These people believe the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax and take pictures of empty corridors in hospitals and post them on social media to prove their point.

But the chief executive of the Colchester Hospital Nick Hulme says there’s a reason why corridors in the hospital are empty.

“Of course there are empty corridors at the weekend in outpatients, because that’s the right thing to do,” he told the BBC. “We are facing the biggest health challenge we’ve ever seen and we are still seeing people flouting the [social distancing] rules.”

Under coronavirus pandemic restrictions on social distancing, many outpatient consultations had been moved online or were taking place over the telephone, he added.

He said he does not regret the hospital’s decision to remove them from the premises.

“When you’ve got that sort of social media pressure and those people denying the reality of Covid it really concerns us. Words fail me,” he said. “Why would people do that when we all know somebody who has died from Covid?”

Physical appointments, tests and procedures had been organised differently to avoid crowded waiting areas.