Professional motocross racer Carey Hart, the wife of pop star Pink, had a NSFW message for the coronavirus on Instagram. The father of two gave the virus a middle finger as he prepared for Saturday’s Daytona Supercross event in Daytona Beach, Florida. He posed wearing a facemask, which earned him some ire from fans.
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“F&$k You, Corona virus,” Hart, 44, wrote in the caption. He included the hashtag “Daytona or bust.”
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In the picture, Hart had his face covered with a face mask, glasses and a hat. He was also wearing gloves. This inspired a few Instagram users to tell Hart he did not need to wear the mask.
“I just came back from Milano, Italy and most of the crazy scenes saw on tv are way exaggerated,” one user wrote. “They portrayed the country with empty supermarkets and streets. And it’s not like that. I never wore the mask. If you’re under 70/80 and in good health status, is a flu Like every year.”
“This is ridiculous – every single medical professional will tell your not to wear that thing,” another wrote. “I’ve admired your page doe sometime but this only helps spread unneeded fear.”
According to the World Health Organization, healthy people only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of someone with suspected coronovirus disease (VOCID-19) infection. “Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water,” the WHO notes.
Wearing a mask can help lessen the chance of the disease being passed on if you are in close contact with someone already infected, The Guardian reports. That means they are important for health care professionals dealing with patients frequently. However, a face mask does not completely keep you from getting infected when out and about because viruses can still transmit through the eyes and vital particles that penetrate masks.
There are more than 109,000 confirmed coronavirus COVID-19 cases around the world, according to Johns Hopkins data, with more than 80,000 in mainland China. In the U.S., there are 547 cases and 21 confirmed deaths, with 18 in Washington state alone.
Italy has seen the most cases outside China, with more than 7,000 confirmed cases. On Saturday morning, the Italian government put more than 16 million people under lockdown to prevent the disease from spreading, reports NBC News. The region under quarantine includes Milan, while Venice, Parma, Moddena and others are under quarantine.
Hart and Pink have been married since 2006. They are parents to Jameson Moon, 3, and Willow Sage, 8. Pink has not commented on the coronavirus, but she shared a photo with her children on Sunday to mark International Women’s Day.
“Strong women; may we know them, may we raise them, may we be them,” she wrote.
Photo credit: Ari Perilstein/Getty Images for Feld Entertainment, Inc.
