TheHill.com

Gohmert blames mask for positive COVID-19 test

   By Juliegrace Brufke - 07/29/20 01:54 PM EDT
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   reaches all-time low after Capitol riots Why Trump could face criminal
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   on maskless lawmakers on House floor MORE (R-Texas) is questioning
   whether his positive coronavirus test could have been linked to his
   face mask.

   Gohmert, one of several House Republicans who have been notable in not
   wearing masks at the Capitol, told KETK-TV, a Fox News affiliate, that
   he'd been wearing a mask more frequently.

   “It's really ironic, because, you know, a lot of people have made a big
   deal out of me not wearing a mask a lot, but in the last week or two. I
   have worn a mask, more than I have in the whole last four months," he
   said.

   He then questioned whether that could have led to his positive test.

   “But I can't help but wonder if my keeping a mask on and keeping it in
   place, that if I might have put some germs or some of the virus onto
   the mask and breathed it in — I don't know. But I got it, we'll see
   what happens from here, but the reports of my demise are very
   premature," he said.

   Public health experts have repeatedly called on the public to wear face
   coverings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and masks are
   commonly worn by lawmakers, staff, reporters and other workers on
   Capitol Hill.

   Gohmert was notable for often not wearing a mask, including inside and
   outside a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday where Attorney
   General William Barr Bill BarrJustice Dept. blasts Mexico's decision to
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   lobby president: NYT MORE to Texas on Wednesday.

   Gohmert insisted he had been wearing a mask during Tuesday's hearing.

   "And, you know, fake news media appear to have tweeted out that Nadler
   admonished me yesterday at the Judiciary hearing for not wearing a
   mask, but he didn't admonish me. I was wearing my mask. There were a
   couple of other Republicans that were not wearing a mask at the time,”
   he said, referring to Judiciary's chairman, Rep. Jerry Nadler Jerrold
   (Jerry) Lewis NadlerPelosi names 9 impeachment managers Republicans
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   self-quarantine," he added.

   Gohmert had been spotted for months without a mask around the Capitol,
   but he asserted that he plans to wear one for at least the next 10
   days.

   “Obviously I'm not wearing the mask right now talking to you but you're
   not at risk of getting it through the internet,” he said in the
   interview.

   “But, but no, I will be religiously wearing a mask as I leave the
   building. I will not be around anybody for the next 10 days without
   making sure that I have a mask, because that's the real danger once you
   have it, giving it to somebody else, and that's when a mask is most
   important," Gohmert said.

   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines call for
   individuals to wear masks to prevent spreading the deadly virus.

   And U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said earlier this month that the
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   effective.”
   Tags Jerrold Nadler Louie Gohmert Donald Trump William Barr Jerry
   Nadler Texas Coronavirus COVID-19 Masks Social distancing

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