Ohio Representative Nino Vitale says he refuses to wear a face mask because “we are all created in the image and likeness of God.”
“This is not the entire world,” Vitale wrote in a Monday Facebook post. “This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.”
Vitale posted the statement on Facebook after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine strongly encouraged people to wear masks in public. He did not mandate the wearing of masks, Relevant Magazine reports.
“It became clear to me that that was just a bridge too far,” DeWine said. “People were not going to accept the government telling them what to do.”
Ohio Department of Health Dr. Amy Acton also advised wearing masks in public to help stop the spread of COVID-19. She said it could be a year before it is safe to go in public without masks, according to News Week.
“Don your mask,” she said. “Don your cape.”
Vitale, however, said he didn’t want to cover people’s faces. He also said it is time the state reopens.
“This is not based on logic,” he said. “This is based on fear and propaganda and every statistical, data-driven study done in the last 2 weeks says death counts are low, the models were wrong and this is more like the flu.”
Vitale also used the hashtag #MasksDoNotWork on some of his posts.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, estimates that between 12,000 and 61,000 people die of the flu in a year. Coronavirus, meanwhile, has led to the deaths of 69,000 people as of May.
In the state of Ohio, there are 19,600 cases of coronavirus and 970 confirmed deaths.
Photo courtesy: Noah/Unsplash
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
