Samuel Case, FISM News
The New York City’s health commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot resigned from her position citing frustration with Mayo Bill de Blasio’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the city.
The New York Times reported her resignation email, in which she criticized de Blasio. “I leave my post today with deep disappointment that during the most critical public health crisis in our lifetime, that the Health Department’s incomparable disease control expertise was not used to the degree it could have been,” she wrote.
Back in May de Blasio handed over the responsibility of COVID-19 contact tracing to the hospital system instead of the health department; a move that was met with criticism. Barbot also addressed her staff and said that their “talents must be better leveraged,” by the city.
Previously, Dr. Barbot came under fire for denying the NYPD’s requests for protective face masks. “I don’t give two rats’ a**es about your cops,” she said to police officials, saying she needed the facemasks for medical workers. She later apologized for the comment.
De Blasio thanked Dr. Barbot for her service, but acknowledged “it was time for a change.” The mayor has since appointed Dave Chokshi, who had served in senior roles in New York’s hospital system, as a replacement.
Sourced from Reuters American Wire, Fox News, and The New York Post