Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is done with people who are politicizing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s not a political issue,” the former California governor tweeted Thursday in support of current Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order that all Californians must wear face coverings in public in a bid to slow the spread of the contagion.
“Anyone making it a political issue is an absolute moron who can’t read,” Schwarzenegger added.
Refusing to wear a face mask has become something of a billboard for some right-wingers and supporters of President Donald Trump, who championed the cause by not wearing one in public even in places that require them.
Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, has also been photographed without a mask in multiple public settings.
More than 100 health officials pointed out in an open letter to governors last month that wearing masks “could substantially reduce the death toll, other harms to public health, job losses and economic losses.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends on its website that people should wear “cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.” That’s especially important “in areas of significant community-based transmission,” the CDC said.