Athletes, priests and presidents: 10 public figures who didn't take the coronavirus seriously and then got infected themselves
Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.
- Trump is the biggest name in a lineup of political figures, athletes, and celebrities who didn't take the COVID-19 pandemic threat seriously, refused to wear face masks, or publicly joked about the virus.
- But despite dismissing evidence about the threat of the virus, they ended up getting it themselves.
- Scroll down to read about the 10 different public figures who minimized COVID-19, and then got it themselves.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Since the onset of the coronavirus crisis, some politicians, athletes, and celebrities either didn't take COVID-19 seriously, dismissed it, or even blamed it on gay people.
They refused to wear face masks, joked about the virus, or threw large parties despite health safety restrictions. But it was the infection that had the last laugh, and several of the high profile doubters, deniers, and anti-maskers ended up getting ill.
Here are 10 public figures who tested positive for COVID-19 after they didn't take its threat seriously or even denied it.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both tested positive for the coronavirus on October 2.
The news broke just after the president's 31-year-old adviser, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the virus.
Trump has repeatedly tried to downplay the severity of the pandemic.
For several months, the president has refused to wear a mask in public and repeatedly questioned their effectiveness.
At the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, Trump mocked his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, for being vigilant about wearing a face covering to prevent the coronavirus spread.
"I put a mask on when I think I need it, " Trump said. "Every time you see him, he's got a mask."
He has also held numerous campaign events across the country that defied public health guidelines, with thousands of his supporters showing up without face masks on and not social distancing.
Most recently, the president told a political dinner that "the end of the pandemic is in sight," according to the Guardian.
Trump is 74 years old and, therefore, in a high-risk group.
"The president and first lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence," the president's physician, Sean P. Conley, said in a statement.
"Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments," Conley added.
"We will get through this together," Trump tweeted on Thursday.
2. Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, who had been skeptical about wearing masks, died after contracting the virus.Molly Riley/AP Images
The former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died on July 30 after he was hospitalized with COVID-19. He was 74 years old.
The day before Cain was hospitalized, he tweeted in support of the Trump campaign's decision not to require masks at an Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore.
Cain said in a now-deleted tweet: "Masks will not be mandatory for the event, which will be attended by President Trump. PEOPLE ARE FED UP!"
Cain suggested that vaccine skepticism was justified in another tweet because the government and the media had "incinerated their credibility."
It is not clear how Cain contracted the virus.
3. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, who repeatedly belittled the threat of coronavirus, tested positive for the virus on July 8.TV Brasil
From the onset of the pandemic, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro downplayed risks of what he called the "little flu," according to the BBC.
Bolsonaro opposed local lockdowns, accused the media of spreading panic, and continuously railed against "dictatorial" measures, such as wearing face coverings.
Before testing positive for the virus on July 8, the Brazilian president attended several public events without a mask on and was shaking hands and hugging supporters.
Bolsonaro said he was taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria medication that was also championed by President Donald Trump. The drug has not been proven to be effective against the virus.
Brazil has the third-highest number of COVID-19 cases and second-highest deaths in the world, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University.
4. Rep. Louie Gohmert had been walking the halls of the US Capitol without a mask on before he tested positive for the virus.
Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
US Congressman Rep. Louie Gohmert tested positive for the coronavirus on July 29 after refusing to wear a mask in the Capitol.
Gohmert later suggested that he might have contracted the disease because he was wearing a face covering.
"I can't help but think that if I hadn't been wearing a mask so much in the last 10 days or so, I really wonder if I would have gotten it," he said, according to The Daily Beast.
Following his positive test result, the congressman reportedly didn't isolate immediately and returned to his office instead because he wanted to inform his staffers about his diagnosis in person.
Gohmert said that he had used the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat his illness.
5. Similarly, GOP Rep. Tom Rice also contracted the virus after refusing to wear a face mask.Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
Rep. Tom Rice, who refused to wear a face-covering on the House floor, became the first lawmaker to report contracting the coronavirus.
Rice later said that he had no regrets about not wearing a mask in the Capitol.
"My understanding is that a mask doesn't really protect you as much as it protects other people," Mr. Rice said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"I don't think it would have made much of a difference. That is, if I caught it on the House floor...I doubt that had anything to do with it," he added.
6. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in March that people would be "pleased to know" that the virus would not stop him greeting hospital patients with a handshake. He tested positive two weeks later.Getty
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he tested positive for the coronavirus on March 27 and was later admitted to hospital.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the prime minister held a press conference in which he said he had visited coronavirus patients in a hospital and that people would be "pleased to know" that the virus had not stopped him from shaking their hands.
The British government has been accused of acting too slowly in its initial response to the pandemic.
In April, one senior cabinet minister said that Johnson had missed five consecutive emergency briefings in the buildup to the coronavirus crisis despite warnings issued in January and repeated in February.
7. Leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Filaret, tested positive for COVID-19 after saying the virus was God's punishment for gay marriage.
Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Patriarch Filaret, who leads the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, tested positive for COVID-19 on September 8.
The religious leader sparked outrage in March after he told a Ukrainian TV channel that the coronavirus was God's punishment for the "sinfulness of humanity; first of all, I mean same-sex marriage," according to the Independent.
The 91-year-old discovered he had COVID-19 during planned testing and is said to have "satisfactory" health, the Independent reported.
8. Tennis player Novak Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 after hosting a controversial tennis tournament in JuneMilos Miskov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Novak Djokovic and his wife announced they tested positive for COVID-19 on June 23, shortly after hosting a controversial tennis tournament in eastern Europe.
The event, which Djokovic organized and involved several other professional players, was mostly void of any coronavirus restrictions.
Social distancing was not enforced in the stands, face masks were rare, and players mingled freely, regularly exchanging hugs and handshakes.
Besides Djokovic and his wife, two coaches and at least three prominent players also tested positive for the virus.
Indeed, Djokovic revealed that he does not believe in vaccines in April and would be reluctant to take one for COVID-19.
"Personally, I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel," the world's top-ranked male tennis player said, according to The Guardian.
"I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don't know," he added.
In his autobiographical cookbook "Serve To Win," Djokovic previously expressed his faith in the form of alternative medicine known as "applied kinesiology."
9. Usain Bolt tested positive for the virus a few days after throwing a big party for his 34th birthday.MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images
The world's fastest man Usain Bolt tested positive for COVID-19 on August 25, a few days after throwing a big party for his 34th birthday.
Videos and pictures on social media from the party showed Bolt dancing in a big crowd of people, most of whom were not wearing masks or social distancing.
10. Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert joked about the virus at a press conference before becoming the first NBC player to test positive.Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Four months ago, the NBA season was suddenly suspended after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first player to test positive for COVID-19.
Days before his diagnosis, Gobert had joked about the virus and at a press conference, touched every microphone and recorder in front of him.
—CBS News (@CBSNews) March 12, 2020
Later, the French basketball player released a public apology on Instagram in which he wrote: "I have gone through so many emotions since learning of my diagnosis ... mostly fear, anxiety, and embarrassment."
"The first and most important thing is I would like to publicly apologize to the people that I may have endangered. At the time, I had no idea I was even infected. I was careless and make no excuse," he added.
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