Rand Paul says cloth masks don’t work

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said that cloth masks don’t work against viruses during a campaign trail on Sunday in Virginia.
• The Republican senator also said that because he already had COVID-19 in March, he “can’t get it again.”
• Paul suggests that if he owned a restaurant, he would hire COVID-19 survivors as servers.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky told a crowd at a campaign trail in Virginia on Sunday that cloth masks don’t work against viruses.

“I’m not telling you not to wear a mask,” the Republican senator said. “The cloth masks … I’m just telling you the truth, they don’t work. Ninety-seven percent of viruses go through a cloth mask.”

Paul tested positive for COVID-19 in March and stressed that those who already had the virus do not need to wear a face mask.

In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidance stating that wearing a mask provides protection against the coronavirus.

Additionally, Paul suggested during a rally for Nick Freitas, a Republican candidate for Congress, that if he owned a restaurant, he would hire servers who have already had COVID-19.

“I’d have a whole wing for senior citizens or for anybody who is worried about getting sick, and I would say, ‘All my servers have already had it.” He added: “If I had a cruise ship … everybody would have had the infection that works on the boat.”

Paul insisted that once you’ve had COVID-19, you are immune.

“I’ve had it. I can’t get it again. I can’t give it to you, and I can’t get it,” he told the crowd.

On the contrary, the CDC has released guidance that states that people who had COVID-19 are not immune to reinfection after recovery.

Source: The Daily Beast