All over the country, we've seen groups pop up protesting stay-at-home orders. While there has been concern from experts that the push to reopen the country too soon would result in a spike in COVID-19 cases, protesters pressed forward. Now one Maryland man who was at the center of the group Reopen Maryland has contracted the coronavirus himself.
Tim Walters is one of the leaders of Reopen Maryland. The group organized rallies in April and May, urging Maryland's Governor Larry Hogan to lift restrictions. Governor Hogan, a Republican, received wide praise for his fast action on the virus. He took it upon himself, back in April, to acquire 500,000 test kits from South Korea when the federal government wasn't supplying them and was quick to close nonessential businesses in the state.
Many called Governor Hogan one of the early leaders in the battle against the coronavirus. But not everyone was happy with his swift action. Tim Walters was certainly among them.
Tim Walters is a Republican who has run twice for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. He's also a leader of Reopen Maryland — which organized rallies in April and May urging Governor Larry Hogan to begin lifting coronavirus restrictions in the state. Last week, Tim took to Facebook to announce that he had contracted COVID-19.
"It is Thursday, week 15 of my house arrest, which apparently hasn't worked because this is day 2 of me having COVID," Tim, 53, said in a Facebook video. But he didn't seem too concerned. He was mostly lighthearted in his video. He did say that at first, he was a bit worried about what was going on, but he's on his way to recovering.
Tim continued, "I did have a hard day yesterday. I told you guys I wasn't feeling really well. I crashed later in the day, had to go to the emergency room. I thought I was actually having a stroke," he continued. "Turns out I have COVID. So with that said, I'm not feeling quite myself today."
Still, astonishingly, contracting COVID-19 hasn't changed Tim's views on the virus. If anything, he seems to have doubled down on the idea that the virus is not actually as dangerous as experts have been warning. The idea that just because one person has mild symptoms means everyone will be OK is highly flawed.
"Interesting time, but as you can see, I'm not dying. It's uncomfortable. I would make it akin to having the flu," he shared.
While it's great that Tim hasn't had too rough of a bout with the coronavirus, it is not the flu. COVID-19 is far more deadly than the seasonal flu and much easier to contract.
Tim also doesn't believe masks are helpful. "Masks are an absolutely great tool for people that want to use them," he told the Daily Record on Friday, before adding that — in his opinion — "they're not really going to do anything." It has been shown that masks can greatly reduce the transmission of the coronavirus.
Governor Hogan seemed to specifically call Tim out, sharing an article about Walters' diagnosis on social media. The article featured an image of Walters not wearing a mask at a protest. Governor Hogan is continuing to urge Marylanders to be smart and to take action to protect themselves and others.
"As Marylanders have gathered to peacefully protest in recent weeks, I want to reiterate to those participating in these events that it's still important to continue to take all precautions to reduce the risks of spreading the coronavirus," he wrote.
It's an important message, especially as coronavirus rates are now soaring once again in many parts of the country. It's absolutely vital that individuals listen to experts and make efforts to not only protect themselves but others.
There is always room for healthy discourse around issues big and small. But the issue with certain groups pushing narratives that have been proven false — like aligning COVID-19 to the flu or saying that masks don't help — is that those ideas can be incredibly harmful to others. Right now, we all need to do our part to make sure we aren't participating in spreading the virus further.
Cases like this are so troublesome because while Tim's videos and approach seem peaceful, his actions are irresponsible and potentially harmful to others. Tim did say his wife and son would be tested for the virus, as well. However, when asked if he would help with contact-tracing efforts, he said he would not.
