Florida ER doctor loses custody of daughter after treating COVID-19 patients

A Florida emergency room doctor has temporarily lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter due to coronavirus concerns.

Dr. Theresa Green has been treating Florida patients during the coronavirus pandemic. She told CNN she is appealing an emergency order that granted her ex-husband full custody of their daughter.

"I think it's not fair, it's cruel to ask me to choose between my child and the oath I took as a physician," Greene said. "I won't abandon my team at work or the patients who will increasingly look to me to save their lives in the coming weeks, but it's torture."

Green and her ex-husband have had split custody of their daughter since their divorce nearly two years ago. Circuit Judge Bernard Shapiro granted the father full custody of his and Greene's daughter to limit the risk of exposure to coronavirus last week.

"The Court does not enter this Order lightly but given the pandemic in Florida and the recent increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases, the Court finds in order to insulate and protect the best interests and health of the minor child, this Order must be entered on a temporary basis," the judge wrote in the court ruling.

Theresa Greene told CNN that she felt the order discriminated against her as a divorced parent. Greene said she doesn't know when she'll get to see her daughter again because there's no way to know when the pandemic will be over.