Sarah Palin, COVID-19 survivor, urges everyone to wear a 'cumbersome mask,' use 'common sense'

Sarah Palin
(Image credit: Getty Images)

If Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, can get COVID-19, "anyone can catch this," Palin told People on Wednesday. Palin said she and several of her five children tested positive for the coronavirus at some unspecified time, and she experienced some of the "bizarre" symptoms like loss of taste and smell. COVID-19 can "really knock you down," Palin said.

"Through it all, I view wearing that cumbersome mask indoors in a crowd as not only allowing the newfound luxury of being incognito, but trust it's better than doing nothing to slow the spread," Palin said, throwing in a joke about The Masked Singer, a TV show she was on, and being "masked before being masked was cool." She added that people should be "vigilant" but not "frightened" of the virus. "I strongly encourage everyone to use common sense to avoid spreading this and every other virus out there," Palin said.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.