Hospital Locks Down ICU Over 'Online Attacks' for COVID Treatment

The wrath of a local religious leader forced an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma hospital to lock down its intensive care unit (ICU) and bolster security measures after the hospital refused to offer an unproven COVID-19 treatment to one of the leader's followers.

The Reverend Daniel Navejas, founder of The Ekklesia of Oklahoma evangelical group, led a protest outside of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City demanding that doctors offer his "beloved brother," 70-year-old Robert Barth, a higher dose of a steroid known as budesonide, which was a request originally made by Barth's wife, The Oklahoman reported.

After the demand went unmet, the pressure for Barth's doctor to administer the drug mounted on social media after Navejas made a post describing one of Barth's doctors as a "murderer." This led one user to post the doctor's address and another to suggest they run him out of town.

"[The doctor,] his wife, and his small children are in fear for their lives," hospital attorneys wrote in a release reported by The Oklahoman. "Security will be posted at the ER entrance 24/7 and is continuously rounding throughout the hospital. Individualized security plans are in place to protect co-workers who have been threatened online."

Budesonide, which goes by the U.S. brand name of Pulmicort, helps prevent symptoms of asthma by reducing inflammation in the lungs when inhaled, the Mayo Clinic wrote. When taken in pill form it can be used to address the rectal condition ulcerative colitis.

The FDA has not approved the drug, nor has it been recommended by its panel as a treatment for COVID-19, although it is currently under clinical trials. Nonetheless, its use as a treatment for the disease has gained traction after a West Texas doctor hailed it as a "silver bullet," claiming, at the time a report was conducted by News West 9, that he had seen a 100 percent success rate treating his patients with the drug.

Last Wednesday, the day following the protest, Barth's wife requested an injunction to force the hospital to administer the drug. However, Barth ultimately passed away Thursday evening, according to court records reported by The Oklahoman.

"We did protest and desperately attempted to get the attention of hospital leadership where we in a calm manner and respectful demeanor pleased [sic] for emergency intervention for our beloved brother Bob Barth," Navejas wrote in a Facebook statement addressing the incident that was reported by The Oklahoman. "Let it be made abundantly clear, The Ekklesia of Oklahoma nor myself have ever threaten [sic] nor encourages violence against Mercy Hospital nor their employees."

Newsweek contacted Mercy Hospital which referred Newsweek to a longer version of the statement provided by its attorneys above. The Ekklesia told Newsweek that Navejas would release a statement after consulting with his attorney.

Updated 02/16/2022, 4:52 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from The Ekklesia.