FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, July 9, 2020
CONTACT: Liz Doherty
PolitiFact Gives “FALSE” Rating to Forest’s Reckless Claim “Masks Don’t Work”
“Is This True? No. Actually Forest Really Misses the Mark Here.”
In Case You Missed It…Last weekend, Dan Forest, Republican nominee for governor, said “masks don’t work” at a campaign event in Hendersonville.
Forest said: “There have been multiple comprehensive studies at the deepest level held to scientific standards in controlled environments that have all said for decades, masks do not work with viruses.”
His campaign’s weak attempt to defend this claim fell flat. Team Forest cited an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 1, but failed to realize the journal issued a follow-up letter to clarify their position after they “noticed that people were quoting their article to discourage mask-wearing.”
Countless other studies underscore the importance of wearing a mask to curb the spread of coronavirus and protect oneself and others, including, the fact check notes, the International Journal of Nursing Studies, The Royal Society, and The Lancet medical journal.
In its final analysis, the fact check finds that Forest’s “statement overlooks recent studies, news stories, CDC guidance and the advice of one of President Trump’s top pandemic advisors” and notes:
While face coverings alone can’t guarantee protection from a virus, recent studies show they do reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
And that’s the goal in this pandemic: to stop the spread. So Forest’s claim that masks “do not work” is inaccurate. We rate his claim False.
All of this and Forest is still selling masks in his campaign store to fundraise for his race. Once again, North Carolinians see that Forest is more focused on propping up his political campaign than on the mutual goal mentioned above: stopping the virus’ spread.
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