Pro-Trump senator says Covid survivors should throw away their masks and ‘celebrate’ as he falsely claims they are immune

US has recorded more than 100,000 Covid-19 cases every day for the last week

Mayank Aggarwal
Friday 13 November 2020 05:07 GMT
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Pro-Trump senator says Covid survivors should throw away their masks and 'celebrate'

Covid-19 survivors should throw away their masks and “celebrate”, according to a pro-Trump Republican senator in the US, despite rising case numbers and there being no proof that a prior infection can keep you safe from the virus.

Rand Paul made the comments at a time when, for more than a week now, the daily number of new coronavirus cases in the US has been more than 100,000.

“We have 11 million people in our country who have already had Covid. We should tell them to celebrate. We should tell them to throw away their masks, go to restaurants, and live again because these people are now immune,” Mr Paul told Fox News.

The Kentucky senator’s advice is not in accordance with the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which states that “some reinfections are expected”.  

The CDC clearly says that whether one has had a Covid-19 infection or not, the best ways to “prevent infection” are to “wear a mask in public places, stay at least six feet away from other people, frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and avoid crowds and confined spaces.”

Medical journals have documented cases where individuals not only became reinfected with Covid-19, but suffered more severe symptoms the second time around.

The Republican Senator Mr Paul has the questionable distinction of being the first known US senator to test positive for coronavirus, after becoming infected back in March. He has since criticised proposals for lockdowns that would protect others, saying the suggestion of a nationwide lockdown for four to six weeks by president-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus taskforce member Dr Michael Osterholm “scares him to death.”

He also expressed his opposition again nationwide face mask measures – an idea supported by Mr Biden – comparing it to living in an authoritarian society.

“So [Joe Biden] wants to lock us down and force everyone to mask up. Doesn’t anyone care to know if mask mandates help? The data on mask mandates actually shows an increased rate of Covid cases after the mandates,” Mr Paul tweeted.

Since the start of the pandemic, the US has recorded more than 10 million cases of Covid-19 and over a million of them were in November alone.

Meanwhile, Mr Paul also attacked Mr Trump’s coronavirus taskforce member Dr Anthony Fauci – something that the president himself has done repeatedly over the last couple of months.

“I think he’s biased in the sense that he believes in government solutions. He believes that submission and lockdown are fine, he’s not too worried about individual liberties,” said Mr Paul while claiming that Dr Fauci tends to “gloss over the science.” 

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