Sarah Palin, one of the most recognizable faces of the Republican Party, has announced she and several of her family members were diagnosed with COVID-19 recently.
The Alaskan shared the revelation with People magazine this week in an effort to show that “anyone can catch this” and emphasize continuing to take the virus seriously.
The 57-year-old said she had tested negative previously until she recently witnessed one of her daughters and her 12-year-old son Trig come down with the virus that has affected hundreds of millions.
“As confident as I’d like to be about my own health, and despite my joking that I’m blessed to constantly breathe in the most sterile (frozen!) air, my case is perhaps one of those that proves anyone can catch this,” she told People.
Palin says she and her son “buckled down in isolated quarantine” and she “still tested negative.” However, “symptoms started overnight with a slight fever and sore muscles.” She said her “bizarre” symptom of not being able to taste or smell made her feel it was “unmistakable” that she had the virus.
Palin, who appeared on the popular Fox show “The Masked Singer,” admitted the practice of wearing a mask daily is cumbersome, but it was the best way to assuredly “slow the spread,” she told the publication.
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky made a plea to Americans not to let their guards down for fear of a “fourth surge” in the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is deadly serious,” Biden said, urging governors to reinstate mask mandates and other restrictions that some states have been easing.
Biden announced that by April 19 at least 90% of the adult U.S. population would be eligible for vaccination — and would have access to a vaccination site within 5 miles of home. Quick vaccination would still depend on supply.
Biden had previously directed that all states make all adults eligible for vaccination by May 1, but many have moved to lift eligibility requirements sooner in anticipation of supply increases.
Palin said she hoped people would be “vigilant” because the virus can “really knock you down.”
“I strongly encourage everyone to use common sense to avoid spreading this and every other virus out there,” she says in her statement. “There are more viruses than there are stars in the sky, meaning we’ll never avoid every source of illness or danger ... But please be vigilant, don’t be frightened, and I advise reprioritizing some personal time and resources to ensure as healthy a lifestyle as you can create so when viruses do hit, you have at least some armor to fight it.”
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