A Republican congresswoman-elect from Georgia who has shown support for the QAnon conspiracy theory versus CDC guidelines on Covid-19 mitigation had reportedly told her orientation class that face coverings are "oppressive". 

The 46-year-old Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter on Friday, November 13, to share that she had told her fellow newly-elected representatives that "masks are oppressive" and that people who are from her state don't wear masks inside gyms and offices. 

Greene had written, "Our first session of New Member Orientation covered Covid-19 in Congress. Masks, masks, masks... I proudly told my freshman class that masks are oppressive. In GA, we work out, shop, go to restaurants, go to work, and school without masks. My body, my choice. #FreeYourFace."

Greene was slammed for her comments across social media. One user shared, "Which constitutional amendment gives you a right to infect others with a deadly, communicable airborne illness?" Another added, "Okay, please make it known that if you get sick and need care, you will then choose not to receive it and or you will accept the decision of the doctors and nurses not to put themselves in harm's way to treat you. Their choice."

"'Masks are Oppressive' says the young healthy white woman. Unfortunately, she's never experienced 'Oppression' so she doesn't realize how Offensive she's being to Black people, Gay People, all marginalized communities, disabled, & AT RISK after 250,000 AMERICANs just DIED!" commented another user. 

 

 

A user shared, "If you could induce an abortion in someone else by having an abortion, it would not be 'your body, your choice'. Masks primarily protect others. You could by asymptomatic. You could kill people from ignorance." Another user who echoed the same sentiments chimed in, "It is not 'your body', though. It's OTHER PEOPLE'S bodies whom you are potentially endangering. But it's not like you give a sh*t about anybody else."

 

According to Yahoo News, Greene had arrived on Capitol Hill with and was seen with a mask hanging from her ear and was later seen leaving the US Capitol with the mask on. Greene had got into a heated debate with officials briefing the class on the House's mask rule, a fellow Republican freshman Madison Cawthorn shared with reporters.

In July, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had started to require all members to wear masks in all House areas except for when delivering speeches or eating. The Republican-controlled Senate has made no such mask requirement. Around six senators and two House members have tested positive for Covid-19. 

Greene has been against the mask-wearing mandate for several months. Back in September, she had taken to Twitter to argue that children do not need to wear masks. The tweet has been since deleted. In the tweet, she had claimed that wearing masks is "unhealthy for their psychological, emotional, and educational growth" and that forcing boys to wear masks is "emasculating". 

The Centers for Disease Control has urged all Americans above the age of two to sport face masks in order to stop the spread of the raging coronavirus. According to data by John Hopkins University, there have been around 10,906,725 confirmed cases of Covid-19 so far. There have been approximately 245,614 deaths across the country.