Comedian Jon Stewart has a message for those who choose to dismiss the importance of wearing a mask during the pandemic.
During an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Stewart expressed concern about the increasing efforts to politicize mask-wearing despite the coronavirus spreading around the United States at an accelerated, unprecedented pace.
“There has been an increased campaign to discredit expertise or to tribalize or to politicize expertise. There’s a whole undercurrent that this pandemic is a hoax or a power grab,” Stewart added. “Living in the Northeast, we don’t realize, like, this is real, and it’s brutal.”
When asked what he would say to those who oppose masks, he offered a number of different scenarios arguing the importance of them.
“I would just say, have you been in operating rooms? Surgeons wear masks, not because they listen to NPR and drive Volvos. They wear masks because that’s more sanitary,” he quipped.
See Stewart’s remarks below:
Jon Stewart to @TheView: “This is a time where leadership is so crucial. People are truly suffering. Not just for the illness, but economically, and you need leadership that has the humility to know that we are facing something we haven’t faced.” https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/cVxb7kMlfr
— The View (@TheView) June 29, 2020
He added, “I would say to the people aren’t wearing masks, who don’t want to wear masks, the next time you get an operation, just tell the surgeon, ‘You take that mask off and you don’t wash your hands because that’s for liberals, and I want you coughing into my open wounds for America.’”
Stewart’s remarks come as more than 37 states are reporting significant upticks in coronavirus infection rates. Only two states have seen a decrease in cases over the last seven days.
As a result of the alarming spikes, some states have even opted to halt reopening in hopes of slowing the spread.
As many local and state officials have raised concerns about increased community spread, they are also focused on incorporating different strategies for mitigation, testing, and contact tracing.
As of Monday afternoon, there are more than 2.6 million known coronavirus cases in the United States as the death toll approaches 130,000.
