Governor Andrew Cuomo lectured New Yorkers who refuse to wear a mask outside, hinting they are “stupid” and claiming coronavirus cases will go back up if people refuse to follow his order to wear them.

“It’s not smart,” Cuomo told reporters. “My colleague Melissa DeRosa said yesterday, ‘It was stupid.'”

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DeRosa, Cuomo’s top lackey, was responding to a video of a Long Island bar that allowed dozens of customers into their establishment over the weekend, in violation of the state’s shutdown rules.

“From what I understand, the photos show people were in this space and they weren’t wearing masks. That’s stupid. Stupid for you, it’s stupid for your surrounding patrons, it’s stupid for the bar,” DeRosa chided. She went on to threaten the bar owners, letting them know they would be “on notice” and encouraging locals to snitch if they see any further violations.

Cuomo Shouldn’t Be Lecturing Anybody

Governor Cuomo is emboldened by an incompetent New York media that fawns over his every move, creating a mythical narrative that he is a model of how pandemic responses should be handled. In reality, his “stupidity” has led to thousands of deaths in his state, predominantly due to a “not smart” edict forcing nursing homes —which have the most vulnerable population within their walls— to accept coronavirus patients.

The death toll in New York nursing homes has exceeded 5,600, even as the governor’s administration has been caught shifting the criteria to lower the numbers. Cuomo issued an order on March 25th stating: “No resident shall be ­denied readmission or admission to NH [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19.” He then failed to reverse the directive for six weeks as deaths mounted. Cuomo recently shrugged his shoulders over the numerous deaths, suggesting older people are simply going to die sometimes.

Cuomo’s ‘Stupid’ Brother

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The governor’s response comes a little over a month after his brother Chris Cuomo, a CNN anchor who had tested positive for COVID-19, was caught appearing in public in violation of guidance admonishing against unnecessary travel. After breaking quarantine, younger Cuomo staged his melodramatic emergence from the basement for the first time after testing positive, even though it was public knowledge he had already broken quarantine. Andrew never referred to the embarrassing stunt as “stupid,” but Fox News host Tucker Carlson certainly came close…

About those masks: A pair of studies according to Live Science have shown different conclusions on the effectiveness of masks during the pandemic.

Researchers, writing in two new papers, attempt to tackle the efficacy of masks, one more rigorously than the other, and come to differing conclusions. One study examined the effect of masks on seasonal coronaviruses (which cause many cases of the common cold) and found that surgical masks are helpful at reducing how much virus a sick person spreads. The other looked particularly at SARS-CoV-2 and found no effect of either surgical or fabric masks on reducing virus spread, but only had four participants and used a crude measure of viral spread.

Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia (United Kingdon) last month stated, “Our view is that there was some evidence of a degree of protection, but it wasn’t great. So we still don’t effectively know if face masks in the community work.” Hunter recommended mask use for healthcare workers, but certainly didn’t insinuate people not wearing them out in public were “stupid.”

This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.

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