On Sunday, California Representative Devin Nunes encouraged healthy people to dine out at restaurants amid growing concerns over the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
His statement contradicted public health recommendations that strongly encourage Americans to avoid social distancing and discourage them from attending mass gatherings.
Nunes said on Fox News that Americans should stop fighting over groceries and toilet paper.
He said, “There’s a lot of concerns with the economy here because people are scared to go out. But I will just say, one of the things you can do is, if you’re healthy, you and your family, it’s a great time to just go out, go to a local restaurant.”
“Likely you can get in easily,” he added. “Let’s not hurt the working people in this country that are relying on wages and tips to keep their small business going.”
On Sunday, Nunes took to Twitter to say that there was no food shortage and not to panic. He wrote, “If healthy, support local workers and economy — shop and eat local!”
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt also encouraged people to support local businesses. On Saturday, he also took to Twitter to share a photo of his family at a packed food hall – Collective OKC.
He later deleted the post, which read, “Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It’s packed tonight! #supportlocal #OklaProud.”
However, public health officials have been urging people to stay home in order to combat the ongoing outbreak.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended avoiding densely populated areas to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
They have recommended practicing “social distancing” by physically maintaining a distance of at least six feet from other people when possible.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said on Sunday that people would have to make personal sacrifices and follow government guidelines to prevent a “worst-case scenario.”
He said on NBC’s Meet the Press, “Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing.”
Dr. Fauci told CNN, “For a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States. We have to just accept that if we want to do what’s best for the American public.”
