“People need fresh air. Especially children,” Carlson said. “Deprive them of fresh air and you hurt them.”
Jimmy Kimmel responded to Carlson’s comments on his late night talk show, saying, “The guy said nothing after Sandy Hook [in which 20 children, all aged six or seven, were shot and killed]. “Now he wants you to call the cops, ‘There’s a kid with cotton on his face.’”
Carlson added, “As for forcing children to wear masks outside, that should be illegal. Your response when you see children wearing masks as they play should be no different from your response when you see someone beat a kid in Walmart. Call the police immediately. Contact Child Protective Services. Keep calling until someone arrives. What you’re looking at is abuse, it’s child abuse, and you’re morally obligated to attempt to prevent it.”
Kimmel further commented on Carlson’s statement, saying, “What kind of analogy is that? I mean, who’s at home nodding along with that? Is it possible that Tucker Carlson is actually a top-secret Sacha Baron Cohen character that he’s going to reveal to us? It’s the only explanation we have left.”
Carlson also told adult viewers, “So the next time you see someone in a mask on the sidewalk or a bike path, do not hesitate. Ask politely but firmly, ‘Would you please take off your mask?… Your mask is making me uncomfortable.'”
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that masks should be worn by children aged 6 to 11, and “children aged 12 and over should wear a mask under the same conditions as adults, in particular when they cannot guarantee at least a 1-metre distance from others and there is widespread transmission in the area.” They also write on their website: “Masks should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress transmission and save lives; the use of a mask alone is not sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection against COVID-19. If COVID-19 is spreading in your community, stay safe by taking some simple precautions, such as physical distancing, wearing a mask, keeping rooms well ventilated, avoiding crowds, cleaning your hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue.”
“Make wearing a mask a normal part of being around other people.”
To date, almost 590,000 people in the U.S. have lost their lives to the coronavirus during the pandemic. Worldwide, the death count stands at over 3.15 million. ~Alexandra Heilbron