Sen. Kennedy: Coronavirus ‘Not Nearly as Lethal as the Experts Told Us It Was Going to Be’

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said in a Monday interview the coronavirus has not been “nearly as lethal” as experts originally believed, but that Americans should take President Donald Trump’s case as an indicator of its highly infectious nature.

“Every time I’ve been to the White House, it’s sort of been a protected — super protected area. It was a bubble,” Kennedy said in the interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. “I think what that shows you is — it shows you what we have learned about this virus. We have learned two things, among others, but two things stood out in my mind. Number one, it’s very contagious. Number two, it’s not nearly as lethal as the experts told us it was going to be.

“The latest CDC figures say that of a thousand people who get it… six are going to die, which is six too many,” Kennedy said. “We have to respect it. But it’s a pandemic. And the reason they call it a pandemic is because it’s out there. It’s easy to get. If you can get it at the White House, you can get a pretty much anywhere. You’ve just got to be careful.”

The president is scheduled to depart from Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on Monday evening, just days after announcing Friday that he had contracted the virus. Numerous White House officials announced in the intervening days they had also contracted it, including press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who disclosed her status Monday morning.

“Has it changed the president? I think we both know the answer to that, Neil,” Kennedy said. “There is this ongoing debate that, unfortunately, has been politicized about masks and the coronavirus, and are we striking the right balance between the economy and safety.

“This is America. People are free,” he added. “In China, it would be easy. If you don’t wear a mask, they will bayonet you and throw you in Shawshank prison. We don’t do that in America. All I can tell people what I do. Socially distance, wear a mask, wash your hands, avoid large crowds, and respect this thing. And if we do, we’ll be OK.”

Watch above via Fox News.