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The phrase “STOP GETTING TESTED” — all caps — was trending on Twitter Wednesday morning, and now we know why— Nino Vitale, a Republican state lawmaker in Ohio, called on his constituents to avoid getting tested for COVID-19.
What’s happening:
- Vitale wrote a Facebook post Tuesday about the testing situation for COVID-19. He said testing gave the U.S. government “an excuse to claim something is happening that is not happening at the magnitude they say it is happening.”
- He wrote: “Have you noticed they never talk about deaths anymore, just cases? And they never talk about recoveries. They just keep adding to numbers they have been feeding us from over 3 months ago!”
- Vitale shared a graphic that shows where in Ohio masks will be required.
- According to Huffington Post, Vitale previously said he would not wear a mask, though, because the face is the “image and likeness of God.”
Why testing is important
- Public health officials said testing can be important to COVID-19 prevention. Testing can “help treat, isolate or hospitalize people who are infected,” according to Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, American Heart Association chief medical officer for prevention.
- He said: “Testing also is important in the bigger public health picture on mitigation efforts, helping investigators characterize the prevalence, spread and contagiousness of the disease.”