Virginia governor Ralph Northam says masks save lives – then doesn't wear one
Governor Ralph Northam has repeatedly urged Virginia residents to cover their faces in public during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, he told reporters wearing a mask “could literally save someone else’s life”.
But the Democrat did not heed his own advice on Saturday, when he posed without a mask for photographs with residents during a visit to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
A spokeswoman for the governor’s office said Northam should have had a mask.
“He was outside and not expecting to be within 6ft of anyone,” Alena Yarmosky said. “This is an important reminder to always have face coverings in case situations change. We are all learning how to operate in this new normal, and it’s important to be prepared.”
Northam has suggested he will announce a statewide policy on face coverings on Tuesday. At the beach on Saturday, he told reporters his administration was still working on the details.
Critics on social media chided Northam, a doctor, for not practicing what he has preached.
“Physician, heal thyself,” tweeted Todd Gilbert, Virginia’s Republican House minority leader.
The Virginian-Pilot reported that Northam posed for a picture with a woman who said she knew him and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“We just have to continue to remind people that we want to keep the social distance of 6ft apart,” Northam said, when asked about the touch. “That’s a challenge for a lot of folks because they’re just not used to doing that.”
Virginia has more than 34,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 1,135 confirmed deaths, according to the state health department. More than 1.6m cases have been confirmed across the US, and nearly 100,000 deaths.