If you want to cringe and squirm in your seat for three minutes and nineteen seconds, watch the "dance party" that the staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Roseburg, Oregon had.
The dance party looks like it was just a way to boost morale, but people are slamming them for not wearing masks or being socially distant. We care more about their dance moves! Sweet Caroline?! C'mon!
VA Director Keith M. Allen strolls into the room with a little boom box on his shoulder, and then everyone walks in awkwardly moving to the music single file. This is the kind of thing done at elementary school "graduations."
The Roseburg VA District covers four southern Oregon counties and a small bit of Northern California. It serves about 56,000 veterans, most of are elderly with preexisting conditions.
Last week, an administrator confirmed that four members of the Roseburg staff tested positive for Coronavirus. One of them is a nurse who ended up on a ventilator in a Portland hospital.
The VA has commented on the party to KEZI 9 News:
VA realizes the importance of social distancing during this national emergency and will reiterate that to all employees involved. This video was made in an administrative, non-clinical area where PPE is not required. All staff who participated were volunteers and had been properly screened, per CDC and VA guidelines. Roseburg VAHCS takes its responsibility to protect Veterans and employees seriously, a fact that’s underscored by the facility’s 0.3% COVID-19 employee infection rate.
KEZI also reached out to Congressman Peter DeFazio's office. He called Director Allen's actions "totally inappropriate."