Colorado government Jared Polis
Jared Schutz Polis Protesters surround the Aurora police compound after photos of officers emerge mocking the death of Elijah McClain. The officer involved in taking photos mocking Elijah McClain resigns. (D) endorses a recent post he shared on Facebook over the weekend calling anyone who refuses to wear a mask to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as a “selfish bastard.”
In the Facebook post released on Sunday, the Governor wrote: “The emerging scientific data is clear: wearing a mask not only protects others, but also significantly reduces your own risk of contracting coronavirus. So if you are a selfish bastard and wearing a mask to protect others is not a sufficient reason to do so, maybe protect yourself?
The publication also featured a link to an article published by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), in which Dean Blumberg, who serves as chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, said the research It shows that wearing a mask can reduce the risk of infection by 65 percent.
When pressured about his Facebook post at a press conference Tuesday, Polis said the purpose of his message was to highlight that “even if you don’t care about other people’s health, wearing a mask reduces your own risk of getting coronavirus about two thirds. “
He went on to say that the recent post was just one of several communication methods he has used in the past few weeks to convince people to wear masks.
“That means direct, it means humor, it means appeals to people’s patriotism, both in terms of their pride in being Americans and their pride in being Coloradons,” he said.
“Everyone makes their decisions differently. Some react to humor, some react to forceful statements, some react to data, some react to peer pressure, “he said, adding:” There is no one way to convince people to wear masks. I want to participate in every possible way to convince people to wear masks. “
According to the latest state health data, more than 37,000 cases of COVID-19 have been counted so far, in addition to more than 1,500 deaths.
Although Polis has continued to urge residents to wear masks in public to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, he did not come to demand it.
During his briefing on Tuesday, Polis said that “like most people in Colorado, I believe in bodily autonomy” and that he believes “people should make their own decisions.”
However, he also said that he realizes that the matter is not that simple and dry, and said that “the reason this issue is more complex is not just about your rights.”
“It is also about protecting the right to life of those affected by their decisions,” he added.
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