A North Dakota public-health officer says she's been called 'Nazi' and 'tyrant' for trying to control the state's coronavirus outbreak
Bing Guan/Reuters
- North Dakota is experiencing a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases: One in 10 residents has gotten sick.
- Yet public-health officers say they face antagonism from the public and other government leaders when they attempt to promote social distancing and mask wearing.
- One North Dakota health official said she was called a "Nazi" and "tyrant" after calling for restrictions to curb the virus' spread.
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One out of every 10 people in North Dakota has gotten the coronavirus. The state's total of COVID-19 deaths has jumped more than 200% in the last two months.
But Renae Moch, the public-health director for Bismarck and Burleigh County, said that despite these numbers, she faces a cruel irony: Messages of hate and vitriol from the people whose lives she's trying to save.
Moch said local residents called her a "Nazi" and "tyrant" when she pushed for a mask mandate this fall. Burleigh County has the highest number of cases per capita in the state, and the third-highest total number of deaths.
"Let me tell you, I'm the furthest thing from a tyrant," Moch told Business Insider. "They say I'm lying about the dangers of COVID. Why would I want to do that? Nothing could be further from the truth."
She added that if doctors and other health experts are telling you that masks can save lives and that the virus is dangerous, "that's who you need to trust and the information you should move forward with."
From 'we're all in this together' to hate mail
Bing Guan/Reuters
At the beginning of North Dakota's outbreak, Moch said, "people were supportive" of the work she and and other experts were doing.
"Then we reopened and people went back to their routines, and we didn't get hit that hard. So people lost faith in public-health measures," she said.
Like many other health officers, Moch has advocated for mask requirements, more testing and contact tracing, and stronger messaging about the need for isolation and quarantines. She's part of the Burleigh-Morton COVID-19 Task Force, a group that makes recommendations to lawmakers in both counties. When cases started to surge in the late summer, the task force suggested a mask mandate and restrictions on some businesses.
Then things got ugly.
"The hearts in the windows and the love and the 'we're all in this together' that was in March has faded away to vulgarity and rude untruths that is just beyond my comprehension," Moch told the Bismark Tribune in September.
Because of her high-visibility role, Moch said, she's become a focal point. People have protested outside her office, holding signs and booing, and written nasty messages to her on social media.
"There's a crowd that hates me and sends hate mail," she said.
'It's been challenging trying to be the voice of public health'
Bing Guan/Reuters
Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said in October that Bismarck had the worst COVID-19 protocols she'd seen anywhere in the US. Yet in city commission meetings, locals have continued to ardently condemn mask requirements and business closures.
"I've personally, just in the last few weeks, experienced the loss of two close family friends due to consequences of COVID," one resident said at an October meeting. Then she went on to explain that despite those deaths, her anti-mask stance hadn't changed.
"I cannot... blindly follow the herd and put a piece of cloth over my face," she said.
Bing Guan/Reuters
In that particular meeting, Moch and two doctors answered medical questions from city commissioners for hours. It was a low point, she said.
"The two experts were challenged over and over. It's embarrassing," Moch said.
After the meeting, she added, Moch found her phone flooded with texts from concerned witnesses: "I can't believe you're still working your job after that," she recalled the messages saying.
"It's been challenging trying to be the voice of public health and tell commissioners these mitigation measures have been around for very long time," Moch said, adding, "when they hear business shutdowns, social distancing, masks ... everyone has to come back with a study that discounts what we say."
'It's like the pandemic doesn't exist'
According to a poll commissioned by the North Dakota Newspaper Association, 24% of North Dakotans reported knowing someone who had died from the coronavirus.
Currently, the statewide test-positivity rate (the portion of coronavirus tests coming back positive) hovers around 8.5%. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said the rate should ideally sit below 3%.
Bing Guan/Reuters
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum issued a statewide mask mandate in mid-November in response to the state's case surge, but sheriff's departments and school districts from multiple counties have said they won't enforce the order.
"What is the point of me trying all of this if nobody cares?" Moch said. "Here it's just like the pandemic doesn't exist."
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