An artist has worn a face mask bikini outside Trader Joe's to protest the lockdown restrictions put in place as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The incident took place outside a Trader Joe's in Los Angeles and was staged by performance artist DaVida Sal. She stood half-naked outside the store, covered in facemasks, and strategically placed one mask over her eyes to mock the supposed "blindness" of those complying with the coronavirus restrictions.
This comes after a former coronavirus skeptic urged others to take the virus seriously after contracting COVID-19 himself and ending up in hospital on a ventilator.
Related - These healthcare workers stood up to Colorado lockdown protestors:
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In a Facebook post, Sal revealed that she believes that the coronavirus is a hoax that was designed to remove public freedoms by forcing people to wear masks and socially distance from each other in public.
She wrote in the Facebook post: "If the MASKS work, WHY the 6 feet? If the 6 feet works, WHY the Masks? If BOTH work, WHY the LOCKDOWN?"
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Sal captioned the picture below: "They are calling the police on her because she has no FEAR! The [Whole] Foods manager called the cops on her because she wasn't wearing a mask in her mouth!!"
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Unsurprisingly, the majority of people responding to the stunt were critical of DaVida's actions, especially amid shortages of PPE.
"People where I live are dying, Karen. Protecting the most vulnerable people in our population is the right thing to do. Wearing a mask is not difficult," wrote Amanda K. Reotar.
Maureen Linde added: "As a healthcare worker whom is rationed one mask until it falls apart. I'm pissed off you wasted so many for your 'statement.'"
Per the John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, at the time of writing, there have been 5,508,904 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide, and a global death toll of 346,612.