Covid denier protests outside pub marquee after mistaking it for testing site

A woman has been widely mocked for protesting outside what she thought was a Covid testing centre when it was, in fact, a pub marquee.

The coronavirus-denier filmed herself ranting outside the white tent, condemning what she called the “scamdemic”.

In the clip, she can be heard confronting a member of staff at the Queen of Hearts in Cheshire, asking: “Are you not ashamed of yourself putting swabs up children’s noses? We’ve heard them crying and screaming from across the carpark.”

She then went on to reiterate that he should be “absolutely ashamed of himself, stood round the corner, smoking, with [his] mask off,” adding: “You’re not afraid of this fake scamdemic.”

The man, who was stood alone outside, didn’t respond to the woman’s verbal abuse in her recording of the encounter. We imagine he might have been a bit confused because no testing was taking place there at all.

It turns out, far from being an NHS hub, the white structure was actually erected at the site for punters to watch the Euro 2020 tournament.

That didn’t stop her from posting it on Twitter, and urging other protestrs to join her:

However, fellow users of the platform were quick to flag the woman’s mistake:

A spokesperson from the Queen of Hearts pub confirmed to the Liverpool Echo that the marquee is for “for football and family gatherings” and said the NHS mobile testing had nothing to do with us”.

Halton Council described the video as “harmful and misleading.”

A spokeswoman the same news outlet: “The council has reported this content to the appropriate authorities and will not hesitate to take similar action to remove other harmful and misleading content.

“Unfortunately during this pandemic we have seen an increase in misinformation, conspiracy theories and criminals looking to exploit and feed off of people’s fears and anxieties during what have been very challenging times.

“The public has a right to reliable information so, we would encourage everyone to use trusted, reputable sources like the NHS, Gov.UK, Council website and local or national media and to be aware of the techniques being used by some to spread misinformation.”

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: “At 12.36pm on Wednesday, June 23, police were called to reports of a possible protest on Jack Search Way, Runcorn.

“Officers attended the scene and on arrival everything was in order and there were no protesters present.”