Rand Paul pledges to fight Biden on lockdowns ‘and forcing us to wear masks forever’

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says that he would oppose strict coronavirus mitigation efforts if they are put forth by President-elect Joe Biden, pledging to “do everything I can to try to prevent Biden from locking us up and locking us down and forcing us to wear masks forever.”

During an interview on “The CATS Roundtable with John Catsimatidis” that aired this weekend, Paul claimed Biden is “talking more about a lockdown” and “he’s gonna be a terrible president.”

The former vice president has not called for a national lockdown, though he has said he will follow the advice of his scientific advisers when it comes to efforts to combat COVID-19.

At multiple points on the campaign trail, Biden said, “I’m not going to shut down the country. I’m going to shut down the virus.”

His health advisers have publicly said that they have no current plans to recommend a lockdown.

“We are not in support of a nationwide lockdown and believe … there simply isn’t a scenario because we can get this under control,” Atul Gawande, a member of Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, said on Sunday. 

Paul also claimed in his interview that current coronavirus mitigation strategies, such as standing 6 feet apart, frequent hand-washing and wearing masks, don’t work, contradicting the advice of most health experts.

The Hill has reached out to Paul’s office for further comment.

Kentucky, like most other states, is experiencing a spike in coronavirus cases. According to government data, the Bluegrass State broke its record for most cases recorded in a single day on Saturday with 3,293.

The day before that, Kentucky broke its record for most COVID-19 deaths reported in a single day with 25.