Ted Nugent said he thought he was dying from COVID-19 just days after he performed inside a Florida supermarket that’s become well-known for its anti-mask stance. Video of his performance can be seen on Nugent’s YouTube page.
The Michigan rocker, who has a condo in Naples, according to NaplesNews, played a concert at Oakes Farms Seed to Table Market in that city on April 12. A video taken inside that crowded supermarket went viral on Twitter earlier this year, showing pretty much no one wearing a mask, including employees.
Nugent went on Facebook Live on April 19 to tell his fans he’d tested positive for coronavirus that day after battling flu-like symptoms for nearly two weeks. His self-described timeline would mean he had these symptoms while performing at the supermarket, where he was shown not wearing a mask.
“I have had flu symptoms for the last 10 days and I thought I was dying,” Nugent said in his live video. “I was tested positive today. I’ve got a stuffed-up head, body aches. My God, what a pain in the a–. I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days. But I did. I crawled.”
During the supermarket performance, with his wife Shemane by his side, Nugent criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“What happens at Seed to Table, let me tell you, you are not alone. God, family, country, freedom, law, and order. We know that’s how you people live your life and even in my beloved birth state of Michigan, do not think that Gretchen Whitmer represents the heart and soul of Michigan.”
According to a report by NBC News, Seed to Table’s owner told the news agency he knows masks do not work and doesn’t believe the coronavirus has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S., saying it’s “total hogwash” and “Why don’t we shut the world down because of the heart attacks? Why don’t we lock down cities because of heart attacks?”
Nugent used similar lingo on his Facebook Live, saying it was BS that 500,000 Americans have died from COVID and asking why we didn’t shut down for COVIDs one through 18.
COVID-19 was named by The World Health Organization for the disease which is causing the novel coronavirus outbreak. COVID-19 stands for “corona,” “VI” (for the virus), and “D” (for disease). The “19″ is for 2019, the year in which the virus was first identified. There is no COVID one through 18.
According to the CDC, more than 565,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.
Michigan is averaging 5,744 new COVID-19 cases per day and 59 new deaths per day over the last week. There have been 804,724 coronavirus cases and 17,031 deaths since the start of the pandemic in the state, along with 90,721 probable cases and 1,099 probable deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have repeatedly stated that masks and social distancing can help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
