Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP / Getty Images
The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and the Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, were harshly criticized after they were made public photos of both without wearing face masks this Sunday during the NFC title game between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium.
On Twitter, former NBA player Earvin Magic Johnson posted photos with Newsom and Garcetti, as well as San Francisco Mayor London Breed, in which they appear without face protection.
California Senator Melissa Meléndezcriticized Newsom and Garcetti on social media.
Toddlers are being forced to wear masks all day long in school. Maybe one day they’ll be governor or the mayor of LA and they won’t have the follow the rules they impose on others. pic.twitter.com/YGJDZeBxGA
— Senator Melissa Melendez (@senatormelendez) January 07, 1232057331
“Children are forced to wear masks all day at school . Maybe one day they will be governors or mayors of Los Angeles and they don’t have to follow the rules they impose on others,” Meléndez wrote.
This Monday, Newsom and Garcetti claimed they wore face masks throughout the NFL game at sl SoFi Stadium and that they were only removed for the photographs.
“I was very judicious yesterday, very judicious,” Newsom told the media on Monday.
“You will see the photo I did take. ‘Magic’ was kind enough, generous enough to ask me for a photograph. In my left hand there is a mask and I took the photo. The rest of the time I used it, as everyone should. Not when I had a glass of water, and I encourage everyone else to do so,” added the governor.
“I was wearing a mask on the game and took it off for a brief moment to take some photos,” said a spokesperson for Garcetti.
The State of California and the County Los Angeles had high rates of COVID infections during the winter due to the Omicron variant of the SARS CoV-2 virus, which is more contagious than previous strains.
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