Nurse Gets Suspended After Wearing Only Underwear Under Transparent PPE

Hospital officials suspended a nurse who went viral after photos of her wearing only bra and panties under a transparent personal protective equipment (PPE) gown circulated on the Internet. The nurse was working in a hospital in the city of Tula, the administrative center of Tula Oblast in Russia. She arrived at her shift, wearing only her underwear beneath the transparent PPE. Reports revealed that she works in an all-male COVID-19 patient ward.

Hot Nurse

The nurse, whose name was not disclosed as of posting, told officials at the Tula Regional Clinical Hospital that she was feeling “too hot” to wear clothing underneath the PPE. The head-to-toe gown is made of vinyl plastic and designed to protect the wearer from getting infected with COVID-19. The Tula Pressa newspaper, a local news outlet, reported the incident after photos of the nurse spread on social media.

While patients reportedly did not complain about her controversial outfit, hospital officials decided to impose sanctions on the almost nude staffer for “non-compliance with the requirements for medical clothing.” In an interview, the nurse claimed she was not aware that her undies were showing through the transparent plastic gown.

Disciplinary Measures

The regional health ministry confirmed reports that disciplinary measures were imposed on a nurse belonging to the infectious diseases department for violating uniform requirements. The Sun reported, however, that the ministry did not elaborate on what those disciplinary measures were.

Initial reports say hospital administration officials claimed the nurse, who was in her 20s, had been wearing “lingerie” underneath the PPE. They later revised this claim, saying the two-piece undergarment may have been a “swimming suit.”

No Public Statement

The hospital staffer has yet to issue a public statement about the incident. On the other hand, Tula Pressa readers had plenty to say. A comment made by a certain Sergey Ratnikov read: “At least someone has a sense of humor in this gloomy, gloomy reality.” Another commenter going by the name of Marina Astakhova added, “Well done, she raised the mood of the patients.”

Valery Kapnin, another online user who submitted a comment asking why hospital officials opted to punish the nurse, stated, “You need to reward her. Seeing this outfit, no one wants to die.” As of Wednesday, there are approximately 309,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Russia with 3,000 fatalities.