An Ohio lawmaker is using conspiracy theories to justify giving potentially dangerous advice to his constituents. “Are you tired of living in a dictatorship yet,” GOP Rep. Nino Vitale asked Tuesday in a Facebook post. “This is what happens when people go crazy and get tested. STOP GETTING TESTED!”
Vitale went on to claim COVID-19 testing is “giving the government an excuse to claim something is happening that is not happening at the magnitude they say it is happening. Have you noticed they never talk about deaths anymore, just cases,” he said. “And they never talk about recoveries. They just keep adding to numbers they have been feeding us from over 3 months ago!”
Vitale, who is up for reelection in November, was responding to an order that Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday, which requires residents in seven counties to wear face coverings in public. The counties identified—Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Huron, Montgomery, and Trumbull—were selected because officials have determined there is a "very high risk” of “exposure and spread" in those areas.
Ohio has reported 57,956 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,927 related deaths, a sliver of the nation's 2.9 million confirmed cases and 130,133 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The state is, however, one of about 20 that are reporting higher incidents of the virus. Ohio’s death toll rivals that of new COVID-19 epicenters like Texas, Arizona, and Florida. In fact, Florida is the only state of the three with more reported COVID-19 deaths than Ohio. Florida has reported 3,778 COVID-19 deaths. Texas has 2,655, and Arizona has 1,810, according to the CDC.
DeWine acknowledged in his news release that expert recommendations of wearing masks, along with social distancing and limited interactions with others, can help protect communities. "It has been, and remains, a very strong recommendation that I urge all Ohioans to continue doing even if you are not in a red-alert (very high exposure) county,” he said.