Candy Kirby
Amanda Kloots, widow of Broadway star Nick Cordero who died from COVID-19 complications, is speaking up after President Donald Trump posted a message downplaying the severity of COVID-19.
After being discharged from the hospital and returning to the White House on Monday evening, Trump, 74, released a video on social media, where he proclaimed the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) — which has killed more than 215,000 people in the U.S. alone, even with precautions— is not cause for concern.
“One thing that’s for certain: don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines, all developed recently. And you’re gonna beat it,” said Trump.
The message came on the heels of Trump’s other dismissive Tweet: “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” (Even though some noted how labored his breath was in the video, contradicting his own message.)
Trump looks like he is gasping for air pic.twitter.com/4k2v4Jxlir
— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) October 5, 2020
Spurred by the president’s “disgraceful” comments, Kloots, 38, explained why the statement was upsetting to those who lost family and friends to the deadly virus.
“To all the over 208,000 Americans who lost loved ones to this virus – I stand by you, with you, holding your hand,” Kloots wrote on Instagram underneath a screenshot of the Tweet. “Unfortunately it did dominate our lives didn’t it? It dominated Nick’s family’s lives and my family’s lives. I guess we ‘let it’ – like it was our choice??”
“Unfortunately not everyone is lucky enough to spend two days in the hospital,” she continued. “I cried next to my husband for 95 days watching what COVID did to the person I love. It IS something to be afraid of.”
Kloots shares son Elvis with Cordero, who passed away on July 5 after a battle with coronavirus complications at the age of 41. “After you see the person you love the most die from this disease you would never say what this tweet says,” wrote Kloots. “There is no empathy to all the lives lost. He is bragging instead. It is sad. It is hurtful. It is disgraceful.”
Remembering Cordero three months after his death, Kloots wrote on Instagram on Monday that “not a day goes by that you aren’t thought about and missed.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says COVID-19 can be spread through airborne transmission, according to updated guidance on the agency’s website. The update, which is now available on the agency’s “How It Spreads” page, says that people who are more than six feet away from each other can still become infected from small droplets and particles that linger in the air, especially in enclosed spaces that have poor ventilation.
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