Ohio State Rep. Nino Vitale, who represents the state's 85th District (Champaign County plus portions of Logan and Shelby counties), does not like COVID-19 testing. He's sick of it, just like he's sick of dictatorships and "so-called" maps.
Just take a look at his FACEBOOK POST!
Are you tired of living in a dictatorship yet? This is what happens when people go crazy and get tested. STOP GETTING...
Posted by Rep. Nino Vitale on Tuesday, July 7, 2020
According to NPR, Vitale's distaste for dictators with super long cotton swabs comes in part as a result of President Trump saying he'd like to see less testing.
The article quotes Trump as saying in May: "If we did very little testing, (America) wouldn't have the most cases. So, in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad."
The story also says, "(Vitale) accused 'the government' of using the pandemic 'to claim something is happening that is not happening at the magnitude they say it is happening' — and apparently, to infringe on people's rights."
When asked by a reporter during a COVID press briefing for his reaction about a certain state rep (spoiler: he was talking about Vitale) who is actively encouraging people not to get tested for the coronavirus, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said, "Well I think that's shocking that anyone would recommend to their fellow citizens who might have symptoms that they not be tested. This is hard for me to believe, frankly."
"If you have any indication that you have COVID-19, the right thing to do is to be tested," DeWine continued.
He added that if you test positive, then you and the health department should alert those you were in contact with and have them get tested. He said wearing a mask, distancing and testing are the most important things we can do to maintain confidence and keep businesses open.
"If we test, we can isolate the virus," DeWine said. "I just don't know what to say, but (not getting tested) would just not be the right thing to do."
In May, Vitale also took to Facebook to call former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton a “globalist” — an anti-Semitic slur" — in response to her Stay at Home order.
"Your basic human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness do not come from an unelected Globalist Health Director, who signed the order in the dark of night. Your basic human rights are inalienable and cannot be bought, sold, traded or taken from you," he wrote. "The Ohio legislature is scheduled to be in session May 4th. It’s time for every member of the Ohio House and Senate to go DO THEIR JOBS, get to the state house and vote on all these unconstitutional orders that defy your liberties and freedoms!"
Vitale has been critical of Acton and DeWine throughout the pandemic. He has been seen with protesters outside of the Ohio State House and posted that billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates "wants to lock us down and profit by charging us for mandatory vaccinations.” (Gates has been the target of conspiracy theorists during the pandemic.)
Vitale, who is the chair of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is also an anti-vaxxer and claims to have a child with a “vaccine injury.”
In mid-April, he sent an open letter to DeWine calling for the reopening of Ohio and said that “waiting for a mandatory vaccination is unacceptable and is reminiscent of communist China.” In many interviews with Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, an anti-vax group, Vitale compared the protective measures taken by DeWine and Acton to "medical dictatorship."