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Former California Governors Unite To Promote Mask Wearing

People wearing protective masks shop for clothing at a store on Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco on Monday.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
People wearing protective masks shop for clothing at a store on Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco on Monday.

Political rivals and former governors of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis found some common ground in a video project: mask-wearing.

"Hey, maybe you didn't vote for me," said Schwarzenegger, who beat Davis in a tightly contested recall election in 2003.

But Schwarzenegger, three other former governors of the Golden State, and current Gov. Gavin Newsom all stressed the importance of wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

"No matter who you voted for, or if you didn't vote at all, it doesn't change that Californians look after each other," Newsom said.

The governors, rounded out by Jerry Brown and Pete Wilson, warned the public that the disease is still spreading, and that a reopening of the economy doesn't mean the threat of further spread has disappeared.

"It didn't go away just because your mall is open at 50% capacity," Schwarzenegger said.

California's hospitalizations and total number of cases have been on the rise during its recent reopening campaign, according to LAist. The percentage of those who test positive has mostly plateaued.

Newsom finished the video by donning his own mask and reiterating a simple message: "Just do it."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Austin Horn is a 2019-2020 Kroc Fellow. He joined NPR after internships at the San Antonio Express-News and Frankfort State-Journal, as well as a couple stints in the service industry. He aims to keep his reporting grounded in the experience of real individuals of all stripes.
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