- Top Republicans over the weekend urged Americans to dine out and socialise, contradicting advice from public health officials to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
- "Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It's packed tonight!" tweeted Kevin Stitt, governor of Oklahoma, later deleting the message following a backlash.
- "If you're healthy, you and your family, it's a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easy. Let's not hurt the working people in this country ... go to your local pub," GOP Rep. Devin Nunes told Fox News Sunday.
- The CDC on Sunday requested Americans avoid groups of 50 or more people. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, said the nationwide closure of bars and restaurants is being considered.
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Top Republicans took to the airwaves and social media over the weekend to encourage Americans to go to bars and restaurants and socialise in what critics said was a dangerous break from advice from top public health officials to avoid large crowds to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
On Saturday night, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt tweeted a picture of himself and his family enjoying a night out at a crowded local restaurant with the caption "Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It's packed tonight!"
He later deleted the message after a backlash to the tweet. On Sunday he declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma in response to the crisis.
Stitt's office told CNN in an email that Stitt's position "has not changed from the instructions he gave Oklahomans on Thursday: Use good common sense, follow the recommended health precautions, protect the elderly and vulnerable populations, but continue to remain calm, live your life and support local businesses."
Rep. Devin Nunes, a top congressional ally of President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday morning told viewers "if you're healthy, you and your family, it's a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easy. Let's not hurt the working people in this country ... go to your local pub."
His constituents in California will have trouble following the advice, as on Sunday the state's governor ordered the closure of bars and the partial closure of restaurants in response to the virus.
And on Sunday morning Sheriff David Clarke, former Wisconsin law enforcement officer and prominent supporter of the president went a step further. He told his 916,000 followers that the restrictions being imposed were part of a government plot.
"GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS. Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools re-open," he tweeted.
"NOW! If government doesn't stop this foolishness ... STAY IN THE STREETS. END GOVERNEMNT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS."
The advice from the three prominent backers of the president came as top public health officials issued new advice to stop the disease spreading, as the number of infections in the US rose to more than 3,000 cases.
The CDC and top public health officials are urging Americans to practice "social distancing" in the fight against the spread of the disease. On Sunday, the CDC issued new advice, urging American to avoid social gatherings of 50 people or more, as states across the country imposed restaurant and bar closures, as well as closures of schools.
"Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing," the CDC said. "When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual."
Dr. Antony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, in an interview on CNN Sunday said he was not ruling out a national closure of bars and restaurants in the fight against the disease, and would "like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see" in those places.
"We need to be very serious about -- for a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States," he said. "We have to just accept that if we want to do what's best for the American public."
In a sign of the bipartisan divide that is influencing even how Americans respond to the pandemic, a poll by NBC News Sunday found that while 61% of Democrats would avoid gatherings during the crisis, only 30% of Republicans would, and while 36% of Democrats would avoid restaurants, whis was a measure only 12% of Republicans were taking.
Critics have accused the Republicans of spreading irresponsible messages during the crisis.
Speaking on MSNBC Dr Leana Wen, a former health commissioner for Baltimore, said that Nunes' advice is "exactly the opposite of what we should be doing right now."
"Irresponsible, dangerous, stupid," tweeted Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell in response Nunes' claims.
There was also pushback to Stitt's tweet before he removed it.
Clarke's tweet also attracted widespread criticism.
Also worth noting that this is the since deleted tweet by Gov. Kevin Stitt from last night. pic.twitter.com/D5g2K0hHeO
- Bill Miston (@billmiston) March 15, 2020Devin Nunes, always finding new and innovative ways to be a menace to the American public. https://t.co/L9BVeKeZBo
- Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 15, 2020Wow... does Nunes believe he has no responsibility at all to his constituents, to look out for their lives and health? https://t.co/Z4yf8zSKiq
- Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 16, 2020Irresponsible, dangerous, stupid. https://t.co/x9JkcawpsR
- Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) March 15, 2020What kind of parent knowingly puts his children, extended family, and everyone they will now come into contact with at risk? This is the epitome of irresponsibility.
- Lynn Comella (@LynnComella) March 15, 2020