TWITTER BLOCKS COVID-19 TWEET FROM TRUMP ADVISER
Atlas claimed masks won’t stop spread of the coronavirus
Twitter blocked a post Sunday from an adviser to President Donald Trump who suggested that masks do not work to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Scott Atlas, who joined the White House in August as a science adviser, had tweeted “Masks work? NO,” and said widespread use of masks is not supported.
The tweet violated a Twitter policy that prohibits sharing false or misleading misinformation about COVID-19 that could lead to harm, a company spokesperson said. The policy bans statements that have been confirmed to be false or misleading by experts such as public health authorities.
In such cases, Twitter disables the account until its owner deletes the post in question.
Trump has downplayed the importance of masks in reducing the spread of the virus, even after he contracted the disease, which has killed nearly 220,000 Americans and infected more than 8.1 million others in the U.S.
“I don’t understand why the tweets were deleted,” Atlas said in an email, calling Twitter’s actions censorship. He said his tweet was intended to show that “general population masks and mask mandates do not work,” and he clarified that the correct policy is to use masks when one cannot socially distance. Atlas added that infections exploded even with mandates in Los Angeles County, Miami-Dade County, Hawaii, Alabama, the Philippines, Japan and other places.
Researchers have concluded that masks can control the spread of the virus, and public health experts have urged the public to wear them. But Trump and his team often go without masks while campaigning.
Atlas, the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a fellow at Stanford’s conservative Hoover Institution, has no expertise in public health or infectious diseases. He has criticized the coronavirus lockdowns and campaigned for children to return to classrooms. Some scientists view Atlas as promoting dangerous theories around “herd immunity.”
On Sunday, however, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar urged Americans to stick with safeguards against COVID-19, including the wearing of masks.
Meanwhile, in other developments:
• The El Paso area has reported its highest number of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus since the pandemic began, officials said on Sunday.
A record high 449 hospitalizations were reported for Saturday, with 129 of those patients in intensive care, according to El Paso health officials.
In the El Paso area, only seven ICU beds are available, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
• North Dakota’s daily positivity rate for COVID-19 topped 10 percent for the sixth time in the last seven days as health officials on Sunday reported 716 new cases, including three counties with more than 100 positive tests.
The state of about 760,000 residents has now surpassed 400 deaths.