Herman Cain Is Still Hospitalized For Coronavirus—Five Weeks After Going To Trump Rally Maskless
Nicholas Reimann Forbes Staff
Business.
Updated Jul 27, 2020, 05:27pm EDT
Prominent Republican Herman Cain is still being treated in a hospital and requires oxygen for his lungs, with Monday marking the 27th straight day Cain has been in the hospital after making public appearances without wearing a mask.
KEY FACTS
In an update posted on Cain’s official Twitter account, a statement said Cain “is still in the hospital being treated with oxygen for his lungs” as part of an effort to re-strengthen them.
Prior to his hospitalization, Cain, 74, appeared at President Donald Trump’s Tulsa rally without a mask, and later expressed his frustration about mask-wearing requirements.
“PEOPLE ARE FED UP!” Cain said of mask mandates on July 1—the same day he would end up being hospitalized.
Cain tested positive for coronavirus on June 29, nine days after he went to Trump’s rally without a mask, along with thousands of others, while the city experienced a coronavirus spike.
Cain’s representatives said in a statement after the diagnosis that “there is no way of knowing for sure how or where Mr. Cain contracted the coronavirus.”
Cain’s condition has been improving, according to Monday’s update, and “the doctors are being thorough and making sure they do the job right.”
KEY BACKGROUND
Cain became a well-known Republican figure when he sought the party’s nomination in 2012, and even briefly held a lead in polls. His support would falter, though, and he ended up dropping out before the Iowa caucus. Prior to his political run, he worked as CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and was the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
TANGENT
At least among some elected officials, the Republican skepticism on mask-wearing seems to have softened over the past few weeks. Several Republican governors have now issued statewide mask-wearing mandates and Trump recently tweeted that wearing a mask is “Patriotic."
