A couple from Casper appeared on CNN Tuesday to help debunk rumors and conspiracy theories that the coronavirus is a hoax or a “plandemic”.
Ann and Marvin Robinson told host Breanna Keilar that they both contracted the coronavirus months ago and it is still affecting them with fatigue and shortness of breath among other issues.
Ann told Keiler that battling the virus was difficult enough but now explaining to some individuals that the pandemic isn’t a hoax is a whole new battlefield.
“We have friends who still believe it’s a hoax, they think that it’s going to go away on election day,” she said. “Now we’re trying to convince people that it’s real.”
Mrs. Robinson said she was deflated because of attitudes from some people who don’t believe it’s a big deal because older people who have underlying conditions are going to die anyway.
“I’m an older person, and I have underlying conditions, and I intend to live for a lot more years,” she said. “I know a lot of people in my situation, my age, and have underlying conditions that lead a full life and have a lot of life left to live.”
In a press conference over the summer, Gov. Gordon angrily spoke-out against “cavalier attitudes” of some Wyoming citizens who discounted the seriousness of the virus because of the impact on the elderly.
“I got some email I really don’t appreciate,” the governor said. “When somebody sends me a note that says, ‘Well, these people were going to die anyway, they’re just dying earlier,’ … I’m sick and tired of that.”
To that end, the Robinsons go online every day “trying to convince people that the 200,000 people who died were important.”
Both Robinsons said they were fortunate to have friends and family who could check-in on them while they were incapacitated but felt sorry for those who didn’t have that support.
“We’ve talked to some other people here locally that didn’t have anybody to help them. And I just can’t imagine what they were going through,” Mrs. Robinson said.
In an interview with the Casper Star Tribune earlier this week, Ann said she “regularly pushes back on COVID-19 denialism” on Facebook.
“That’s the ultimate way to combat COVID denialism,” one CNN anchor said. “One on one, person to person. Instead of spreading disease, spread the truth.”
