San Francisco and the other counties in the Bay Area have been basically shut down because of the coronapocalypse. The seven million people in the Bay Area have been ordered to stay inside their homes and only leave for essential reasons. It’s the strictest policy in the U.S. so far.
So it was with that in mind that CNN’s Jake Tapper looked on with an ever-growing scowl of disapproval at the shocking images he and the network’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta witnessed in a live shot of the San Francisco waterfront.
Apparently the newsmen thought they would see live video of a barren, dystopian moonscape, devoid of humanoids, but instead, they were shocked … to … see … people. Dozens of people. Hundreds of people – walking, jogging, riding bikes, laughing, and holding hands!
Tapper tut-tutted:
The mayor put a shelter-in-place order, uh, there you see, uh, San Francisco’s interpretation of … uh, these are live pictures coming in of the shelter-in-place featuring jogging and cycling, uh, strolling and uh, we saw earlier rollingblading.
Now the mayor said, when I talked to her earlier today, that you could walk if you needed to or walk your dog, but, I, uh, look, I’m no medical professional, but I don’t know how effective that this as a shelter-in-place could possibly be.
Gupta had a ready answer.
Look, Jake, I’m with you. I, I, I still get the impression, despite what we’re hearing from the White House in the distinct change in tone, which has been good and necessary, I think, that change in tone. I still really get the impression people in many places aren’t taking this seriously, and I think that’s a problem.
Tapper fumed, “This is kind of enraging. Many people in San Francisco have clearly not gotten the message!” After a bit more banter, Gupta said, “It’s depressing, Jake.”
Then they both blamed rollerblading San Franciscans on the fact that the people aren’t listening to President Trump. Huh. Why would they listen to the Russian secret agent in the White House? Weird.
Some locals suggested that they were told they could exercise alone.
This reporting is so frustrating. The order allows us to walk, run, bike by ourselves and with the people we live with. These people are not congregating, not touching anything. They are out for a walk then they’re going home. The Bay is shut down. There is no where to go.
— Michelle Moyer (@cotenoroeste) March 18, 2020
Watch Tapper and Gupta for yourself:
"I still really get the impression people in many places aren't taking this seriously," @drsanjaygupta says on many San Francisco residents ignoring the shelter in place order to stay home. "I'm worried these numbers- they keep going up." pic.twitter.com/ltGwFTrk1Q
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) March 18, 2020
Join the conversation as a VIP Member