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President’s coronavirus infection changes few minds about masks, reopening society

The way Jim Riley sees it, it’s hardly big news that President Donald Trump has contracted the coronavirus.

“Of course, the president is going to get it,” said Riley, owner of Riley’s Farm, a popular apple farm near Yucaipa, in the Oak Glen tourist area of San Bernardino County. “I’m going to get it. You’re going to get it. We’re all going to get it.”

And the vast majority who get COVID-19 will recover and not get very sick, he said.

“Like most Americans, he’s going to have a 99.98 percent chance of survival,” Riley said, though experts say the chances are closer to 95% for someone with Trump’s risk factors.

Supporters confident of recovery

He and other Southern Californians who back Trump expressed confidence Friday, Oct. 2, that both the president and first lady Melania Trump would promptly recover.

For the most part, supporters said the disclosure that Trump and his wife tested positive doesn’t change their perspective on the threat posed by the virus nor their demand that society reopen faster.

But in southern Riverside County, Murrieta resident Faye Wons says she dropped to her knees.

“I’m so upset over that,” Wons said. “As soon as I heard of the president and Melania having the virus, I started praying for them. The country really needs them.”

Wons, who wears a mask when she goes to church and the grocery store, said the president’s refusal to do consistently may be why he contracted the disease.

“Let’s face it, he was around all those people and he never wore a mask,” she said.

“He should wear a mask going forward when he’s all around a lot of people because you don’t know what those people have,” Wons said, while adding, “I don’t think he will.”

Trump’s diagnosis didn’t change anything over at Basilico’s Pasta e Vino in Huntington Beach, where owner Tony Roman is no fan of masks.

Roman discourages their use by patrons at his restaurant, which attracted both praise and criticism in June.

“With President Trump being the most protected person on the planet and still reportedly testing positive for the virus, we respectfully feel our position has now been further justified, because we have had zero employees or customers come down with any virus related illness while working or dining at Basilico’s,” he said in an email.

Well wishes

Supporters and critics alike expressed well wishes.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who lost his mother to the coronavirus in late July and his stepfather to the virus two weeks later, has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump’s response to the pandemic. But he wished the president and first lady a quick recovery.

“I’ve lost two parents to COVID19,” Garcia said on Twitter. “It’s a horrific virus and I don’t wish it on anyone. I hope that once and for all we take this pandemic seriously as a country.”

Carson Mayor Al Robles, who is running for re-election Nov. 3 and noted his city was the first in Los Angeles County to make wearing face masks mandatory in public, said Trump’s announcement underlines why downplaying the importance of such measures to reduce infection rates should be guided by health directives.

“I hope that we can set aside politics and moving forward everyone wears a mask, as Carson mandated long, long, long ago,” Robles said.

Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, a Democrat, wished the president and first lady well, too.

“Until we have a vaccine, social distance, hand washing and mask wearing are our only defense,” said Brand, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in June 2019.

Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley, also is a Democrat, said she hopes the sickness won’t be “too severe” for the first family.

“I also hope that, now, many people who haven’t been believing that this is real can appreciate that it is real, and that the mask is an important defense in fighting against the spread of the coronavirus,” Foley said. “And, so, I hope the president and first lady will wear their masks from now on.”

Virus is survivable

Orange County has seen its share of active anti-mask sentiment, from uncovered demonstrations at Board of Supervisors meetings, to sporadic street rallies, to a restaurant owner suggesting masks were not allowed in his dining room.

County Supervisor Don Wagner, who represents the more conservative 3rd District of Orange, Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda, was unaware of anyone rethinking the importance of masks because of the president’s condition.

“The president is, of course, in an at-risk age group, so it’s obviously of concern,” Wagner said. But the virus also is overwhelmingly survivable, he said.

Most people he represents recognize the coronavirus is a “very real thing” and are following pandemic guidelines, such as wearing masks, he said.

“I guess I will do something I don’t often do: Join Joe Biden in hoping the president and first lady get well soon,” Wagner said.

Throughout the pandemic, anti-mask demonstrations have been a regular sight at Orange County Board of Supervisors meetings, though they seem to have subsided recently, Wagner said.

In June, then-county health officer Dr. Nichole Quick resigned due to threats and criticism from residents over her order requiring face coverings in public.

Few people’s views appear to have changed elsewhere.

San Pedro graphic artist George Palaziol, 45, said news the president was infected didn’t come as a surprise. And, he added, it has also not altered his view about the virus.

“I don’t think it’s as deadly or as vicious as Ebola or SARS,” said Palaziol, a Coast Guard veteran married to a nurse.

Reopen economy

Trump’s disclosure hasn’t deterred advocates for loosening restrictions.

Torrance Councilman Aurelio Mattucci, a staunch Trump supporter, said he still believes businesses should reopen faster.

“I am a firm believer that the virus is real, it doesn’t discriminate, and it’s dangerous, but I don’t subscribe to the idea that we must close down an economy and destroy millions of people’s livelihoods in an effort to try stopping the unstoppable,” he said via email.

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt recently advocated that his county defy state guidelines and reopen its economy faster than Sacramento allows. He’s not pulling that proposal back.

“This shows us that it’s there and can hit anyone,” Hewitt said. “But that doesn’t justify shutting everything down so that we all suffer from poverty and the effect of isolation.”

He added, “Does this mean it’s more serious than we thought? No.”

Nor will the development change practices in two Inland Empire churches.

Defiant churches

Pastor Tim Thompson, whose 412 Church in Murrieta has been meeting indoors without distancing or masks since the beginning of the pandemic, said he’s not going to change his attitude or approach because Trump tested positive.

“The president has a cold,” he said. “Many other presidents have had colds.”

Thompson said he has added two more Sunday services, bringing the total to four on Sunday — all indoor — with 1,500 people attending.

In Riverside County, churches last week were given the green light to resume indoor worship — with a maximum of 100 people.

Houses of worship still are not permitted to meet indoors in San Bernardino County.

But Pastor Patrick Scales’ Shield of Faith Family Church in Fontana will continue to do just that, he said. He believes it is their right, which is the focus of an ongoing lawsuit. He said people are tired of restrictions.

“It’s almost like we are imprisoned in an invisible jail cell, so to speak,” he said.

Staff writers Hayley Munguia, Nick Green, Deepa Bharath, David Rosenfeld and Donna Littlejohn contributed to this report.

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