Even as the president and the first lady announced they had tested positive for COVID-19, some of Pennsylvania’s most vocal skeptics of the virus continued to deny it posed a substantial risk.
Kimberly Waigand, owner of the Crack’d Egg restaurant, said she continues to believe the virus is not as deadly as experts say and face coverings are not effective.
“We’re not living in fear,” she said Friday morning. “We have faith in God and we’re not living in fear. We have our immune systems.”
Ms. Waigand’s restaurant sued the Allegheny County Health Department last week after the eatery was shut down for ignoring COVID-19 face-covering rules. She believes the mask mandate is “fear mongering” and “an agenda,” however she did not specify what the agenda is.
She also stated that she has not gotten a flu shot in several years, and instead takes supplements and practices diligent hand washing, even though she had a friend who died from the flu at age 43.
Asked why she doesn’t get her shot, she stated: “Because I don’t want it. I got it one time and I ended up getting sick.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states this is one of the misconceptions about the seasonal flu; sometimes people become infected prior to vaccination or contracted a virus with similar symptoms to the flu. Research also shows vaccination reduces severity of illness in people with the flu.
Ms. Waigand said she had heard these things before. “I have a choice and I have free will,” she said. “We live in America.”
The Crack’d Egg has been supported by members of “E.A.T,” which stands for Entrepreneurs Against Tyranny, an anti-masking group with over 5,000 likes on Facebook. Matthew Foltz and Christine Wartluft, both members of E.A.T, said they feel the same as Ms. Waigand.
“The president got the flu,” Ms. Wartluft, the owner of Taste of Sicily in Lebanon County, said. “We know that this whole COVID thing is totally blown up.”
Neither of them had any new concerns following President Donald Trump’s positive test, and stated they were still going to focus on their mission of ending COVID-19 restrictions in Pennsylvania and opening businesses to 100% capacity.
“All our family and friends are pulling for our president,” Mr. Foltz said, adding he was praying for a quick recovery. Mr. Foltz, Ms. Wartluft and Ms. Waigand all said they are supporters of Mr. Trump.
Taste of Sicily is currently facing $10,000 in fines for ignoring COVID-19 mitigation protocols.
Ms. Wartluft and Mr. Foltz both repeated the claims that COVID-19 is essentially as bad as the flu, even as the virus has killed more people this year than malaria, influenza, cholera and measles combined. They also cited conspiracy theories that Gov. Tom Wolf attended a wedding in Hawaii for his daughter amid the pandemic.
The governor’s office confirmed that his daughters have been married for years and he has never been to Hawaii.
The two also suggested Pennsylvania has one of the lowest COVID-19 case counts in the country (it currently has the 12th highest) and said the governor of South Dakota has done well mitigating the virus with minimal restrictions.
South Dakota, despite having a relatively low total case count of 23,136, had the second-most cases per 100,000 people in the last week and on Friday reported its highest death toll yet of 13 people, making the statewide total 236 deaths, according to data collected by The New York Times.
Mr. Foltz also stated that the CDC stopped calling COVID-19 a pandemic, another theory that has been proven to be false. His podcast, Subtle Beast, also focuses extensively on conspiracy theories.
“People just continue to live in fear, and the media has done a very fine job instilling fear,” Ms. Wartluft said. She also believes wearing masks is about “politics and control.”
The E.A.T group still plans to have a rally Saturday on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol, Mr. Foltz said.
The Crack’d Egg was initially sued by Allegheny County for violating COVID-19 safety measures. However, the restaurant then sued the the county on alleged civil rights violations and removed the initial case from state court.
Both cases are now in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
EDITOR’S NOTE, Published Oct. 5, 2020: A previous version of this online story incorrectly stated South Dakota’s caseload. It had the second-most cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days.
Mick Stinelli: mstinelli@post-gazette.com; 412-263-1869; and on Twitter: @MickStinelli
First Published: October 2, 2020, 6:09 p.m.
Updated: October 2, 2020, 6:48 p.m.
