Coronavirus: Ocasio-Cortez, other officials seen TOUCHING their faces even as they warn the public against it
Amid widespread coronavirus outbreak, public health officials in the United States have been giving advice to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, with the most important being: To not touch your face. However, the officials themselves have been failing miserably in following the same advice.
Congresswoman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday addressed questions from reporters at a news conference on Covid-19 precautions. However, as she talked about the list of CDC precautions, including washing hands, and not touching face, the lawmaker ironically repeatedly brushed her hair away from her face and scratched her nose.
"One of the key parts to preventing transmission is washing you hands and not touching your face…A mask will not protect you if you don't wash your hands and if you continue to touch your face," she said.
Earlier that day, Sara Cody, the public health director for Santa Clara County, California, also appeared to do the same at a press conference. Cody, in her statement, said: "Today, start working on not touching your face — because one main way viruses spread is when you touch your own mouth, nose, or eyes." However, less than a minute later, she raised her hand to her mouth and licked her finger to turn a page in her notes. A clip of the incident has now become viral on social media, receiving over 4.5 million views on Twitter. California's Santa Clara County has been grappling with at least 11 confirmed coronavirus cases.
The trend appeared to continue on Wednesday as the coronavirus response coordinator for the White House, Debbie Birx, and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert R. Redfield, emphasized the importance of no touching your face rule, however, they were spotted touching their faces during a Covid-19 task force briefing with President Trump.
A 2015 study published by National Center for Biotechnology Information found out that people touch their faces an average of 23 times every hour. The areas typically include mostly direct contact with eyes, the mouth and nose - all entry points into the body.