Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday denied the efficiency of mitigation efforts recommended by public health experts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The conservative commentator and “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host claimed during his prime-time opinion program that practicing social distancing has not helped to curb the outbreak.
Medical professionals have stressed that practices such as staying six feet away from other people and avoiding groups and gatherings have made a positive impact, however.
Mr. Carlson argued otherwise during his show while interviewing Dr. John Lee, a retired professor of pathology and columnist for conservative U.K. magazine The Spectator.
“Do we really think that keeping two meters apart from other people is going to stop the spread?” Dr. Lee asked during the discussion.
“It doesn’t seem to have done that so far — at all,” Mr. Carlson replied.
But public health experts including doctors leading the Trump administration’s medical response to the outbreak have stressed that Americans should practice social distancing to stem the spread of COVID-19, the highly contagious and potentially deadly respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said this month that the adoption of mitigation measures such as practicing “physical separation” seemed to be having a positive effect and could result in far fewer Americans dying from COVID-19 than previously projected.
And Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, recently warned that prematurely abandoning mitigation efforts may cause another COVID-19 outbreak to erupt.
“If people start going out again, and socially interacting, we could see a very acute second wave very early,” Dr. Birx said this month.
Fox News has frequently come under fire amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic over how it has covered the outbreak, particularly in light of recent comments made by several frequent fixtures on the right-leaning cable network and its related outlets.
Trish Regan claimed during his Fox Business Network program last month that Democrats and members of the media were using the coronavirus “in an attempt to demonize and destroy” President Trump. The channel parted ways with the commentator shortly afterward.
Sean Hannity similarly claimed on his nightly Fox News show last month that the president’s critics would weaponize the outbreak to “bludgeon Trump with this new hoax.” He has since threatened to sue The New York Times unless the outlet retracts statements made in several recent articles critical of the network’s handling of the outbreak.
Scores of journalism professionals signed an open letter this month urging Fox News executives to rein in the network and ensure its reporting about COVID-19 “is based on scientific facts.” And a group called the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics filed a lawsuit against Fox News this month in hopes of securing a court order to keep the outlet for airing “further false and deceptive content” about the pandemic.
More than one million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic started earlier this year, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 60,000 people in the U.S. have died from the disease and more than 124,000 have recovered, according to the university.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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