Wolf Blitzer Asks ‘How Many More People Have to Die’ Before Others Start Taking Mask-Wearing More Seriously
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer spoke with Dr. Sanjay Gupta Friday about failures in the U.S. covid response and the issue of mask-wearing in particular.
Blitzer noted the number of covid cases in the U.S. has reached 7 million and asked if “it’s possible for the country to get back on track any time soon.”
“I’m always an optimist, Wolf, but we’re clearly going in the wrong direction right now,” Gupta said. “We’re probably dramatically undercounting the number of people who are actually infected out there… I’m worried going into the fall, I hate to be the person that says that over and over again, but I think it’s important to point out that when people start to be indoors more, the weather is getting cooler, people are becoming more mobile, going back to schools, those are all things that were already going to increase the likelihood of the numbers going up.”
Blitzer brought up one model estimating how many Americans could die between now and January, noting many “would be saved if simply everyone wore a mask.”
“How many more people have to die, Sanjay? How many more times can we have to have this conversation before people do something so simple and simply wear a mask when they’re outside and around other people and certainly when they’re inside?” he asked.
“I’ve always thought that the knowledge would be power. It’s part of the reason I got into this business,” Gupta said. “I think it’s so important to be able to persuade people through carrots, not sticks, to inspire to do what is possible, not through fear. And yet it hasn’t worked in this country. We’re still right around 50 percent or so the country’s using masks with any degree of regularity. I don’t know the answer to that question, Wolf, in terms of what it will take.”
He said people may have become numb to the statistics but added hopefully many will realize “there are people who are alive today who aren’t worried about this coronavirus who may still die by the end of this year because of simple basic public health measures not being practiced.”
You can watch above, via CNN.
