Rudy Giuliani says 'you can overdo the mask' while in hospital for COVID-19 after ignoring mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines

• President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani downplayed the severity of COVID-19 while receiving treatment for the virus at Georgetown University Medical Center.
• He called into his radio show on Tuesday and falsely claimed that "you can overdo the mask" and that the disease is "curable."
• Trump announced via tweet on Sunday that Giuliani had tested positive for coronavirus.
• Giuliani has refused to wear a mask and neglected to follow public health rules while working on behalf of Trump to overturn the election results.
• "Things happen in life and you have to go with them. You can't overreact to them, otherwise you let the fear of illness drive your entire life," he said.

President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday downplayed the severity of COVID-19 while in hospital receiving treatment for the disease.

Giuliani called in to his radio show on 77 WABC, a local channel in New York, from his hospital bed at Georgetown University Medical Center and falsely claimed that "you can overdo the mask" and that the coronavirus is "curable."

The statements defy guidance from public health experts who say mask-wearing can help prevent virus transmission. There is also no known cure to COVID-19 yet but potential treatments and vaccines are being developed and administered.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted the announcement that the former New York City mayor had tested positive for the coronavirus. Giuliani is the latest person in the president's inner circle to contract the disease.

Over the past week, Giuliani has traveled to Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia and attended several meetings with state legislators in attempts to push the president's agenda and overturn the 2020 election results. Following his positive diagnosis, Trump's legal team said that Giuliani tested negative prior to the trips and did not experience symptoms until after he returned, CNN reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has widely reported that people who show no symptoms could still be infected and spread the virus.

At recent events, Giuliani regularly appeared maskless and neglected to follow social distancing rules. Jenna Ellis, another lawyer traveling with Giuliani and carrying out Trump's election fight, has also tested positive, Axios reported on Tuesday.

Giuliani expressed little regret over dismissing public health guidelines, compared to that of another Trump ally, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October and said he was "wrong" for not wearing a mask.

"Things happen in life and you have to go with them," Giuliani said on Tuesday. "You can't overreact to them, otherwise you let the fear of illness drive your entire life."

Giuliani said also that he admitted himself to the hospital based on Trump's advice, and mentioned that he's getting the same treatment that the president received when he fell ill with the virus in October.

"His doctor sent me here," Giuliani said. "He talked me into it. I didn't really want to go to the hospital, and he said, 'Don't be stupid, you can get it over with in three days if we send you to the hospital.'"

Trump received an expensive drug regimen, which included an experimental antibody cocktail to fight off the infection that is not widely available to the public.

"The minute I took the cocktail," Giuliani said. "I felt 100% better. It works very quickly."

He also noted that he "did not know" of the drug's high price-tag and its lack of accessibility.

"Sometimes, when you're a celebrity, they're worried if something happens to you," he said. "They're going to examine it more carefully and do everything right."

Giuliani, who is 76 years old, added that he has no fever, a "very little cough," and expects to be released from the hospital on Wednesday morning.