‘Like I pulled out an AK-47.’ N.M. woman denies coughing in health worker’s face

A New Mexico woman charged with a felony after reportedly coughing in a healthcare worker’s face says it’s all an over-reaction.

Joy Ebel, 53, of Truchas, says nurses at a Santa Fe health clinic Dec. 3 objected to her wearing her face mask with her mouth exposed KRQE reported.

“I did lift up my mask to breathe, from the bottom, because I have claustrophobia,” Ebel said, according to the station. She says she only took off her mask entirely when she began to exit the office and never purposely coughed on anyone.

“When I took my mask off, she acted like I pulled out an AK-47 and she started this crisis actress, some kind of rehearsed hysteria,” Ebel said, KRQE reported.

But a criminal complaint against Ebel charging her with felony battery on a healthcare worker says she refused to wear a mask in the clinic waiting room despite being asked several times, The Albuquerque Journal reported.

Told she’d have to wait outside in her vehicle, Ebel went “nose to nose” with a medical assistant, shouting at her and coughing in her face, according to the publication. The worker said she “felt Ms. Ebel’s breath and saliva hit her face.”

The health care worker told police she’s working from home while she quarantines, KOAT reported.

If convicted, Ebel could face up to 18 months in prison or a $5,000 fine, according to the station.

More than 76 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 1.6 million deaths as of Dec. 16, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 17 million confirmed cases with more than 316,000 deaths.

This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 2:50 PM with the headline "‘Like I pulled out an AK-47.’ N.M. woman denies coughing in health worker’s face."