10/28/20 nypost.com
Oregon health official dresses as clown to announce COVID-19 death toll
This is no laughing matter.
A senior Oregon health official is going viral for dressing up as a clown to announce the latest coronavirus death toll.
Claire Poche, a senior health adviser for the Oregon Health Authority, wore white and red face makeup along with a red tie with a polka dot shirt in the somber video announcement.
“As of today, there have been 38,160 cases of COVID-19 in Oregon, with 390 new cases being reported today,” she started her virtual presentation after introducing herself.
“Sadly, we are also reporting three deaths today, bringing the statewide total for COVID-19-related deaths to 608,” she said.
It was only when she cut to fellow senior adviser Shimi Sharief — dressed in a cuddly animal onesie that she said was inspired by the Japanese cartoon “My Neighbor Totoro” — that it became clear that the costumes were part of a discussion on celebrating Halloween safely during the pandemic.
Sharief said the pandemic was “reshaping” how Halloween is celebrated but that it could “still be spooky and fun.”
The live video was recorded on Oct. 14, but started going viral Tuesday after being shared by Samantha Swindler, a journalist at The Oregonian who called it “an absolute nightmare.”
“I’m sorry but who at the Oregon Health Authority thought this was a good idea?” she asked when initially sharing the clip.
“I get they were going for a ‘fun’ Halloween COVID update and they have a very hard job but this … this does not work,” she wrote.
“The clown is just THERE and she dives right into the numbers. AMAZING STUFF,” she said, joking, “Please wear a mask and physically distance so these poor doctors don’t have to make any more videos.”
Many viewers said the straight-faced delivery made it feel like a skit from a TV comedy like “The Office.”
“This cannot possibly be real. It can’t. I do not accept that,” one amazed viewer replied on Twitter.
Others were just relieved that the pair did not choose other costumes that would have been even more painful during the real-life horrors of 2020.
“Grim reaper might have been too on the nose,” one person tweeted in reply.
Others, meanwhile, took the comical dress-up as a cutting comment on the Beaver State’s health authority, calling it a “joke.”
“There has never been a shortage of clowns at OHA,” one wrote.
https://nypost.com/2020/10/28/oregon-official-dresses-as-clown-to-announce-covid-19-death-toll/
[Black Mirror, controlled (?)]