⁍ Twitter removed a ‘misleading’ tweet downplaying the efficacy of masks posted by a top coronavirus adviser to President Donald Trump.

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⁍ Dr. Scott Atlas continued to minimize the importance of masks with a Twitter post on Saturday, saying, ‘Masks work? NO’
Twitter Inc removed the tweet on Sunday, saying it violated its misleading information policy on COVID-19.

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– President Trump’s top adviser on coronavirus tweeted Saturday that masks don’t do much to stop the spread of the disease, which has killed at least 217,000 people worldwide and sickened more than 8 million, Reuters reports. “Masks work? NO,” tweeted Dr. Scott Atlas. “The United States shows more CASES than other countries, which the Lamestream Fake News Media pounces on daily, because it TESTS at such a high (and costly) level,” he wrote. Atlas, who is also the president’s chief medical adviser, has downplayed the importance of wearing masks at Trump rallies, despite federal guidelines. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, meanwhile, said Sunday that the US is probably entering the worst phase of the pandemic without a national strategy. “I think the next three months are going to be very challenging,” he told CBS’s Face the Nation. “There’s really no backstop against the spread that we’re seeing. Hospitalizations were rising in 42 states and there is no intervention short of a vaccine that can thwart the spread, he said. The White House has come out against universal masking, against testing asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic people, and wants businesses and schools reopened. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar urged Americans to continue social distancing, wearing masks, and washing hands. “Hang in there with us,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press.