Bruce Springsteen calls U.S. COVID-19 response ‘national disgrace’

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bruce Springsteen has utilized his latest platform to call U.S. President Donald Trump‘s handling of the ongoing health crisis within the U.S. a “national disgrace.”

Though the veteran rocker said he had planned another, more upbeat “broadcast” for the sixth volume of his new — and limited-time-only — bi-weekly SiriusXM radio show, From My Home to Yours, he shifted gears, expressing an urgency to address how “p—ed off” he was with Trump’s “empty” and “shamed response” to battling the novel coronavirus instead.

“With 100,000 plus Americans dying over the last few months and the empty, shamed response from our leaders, I’ve been simply pissed off,” Springsteen, 70, said at the beginning of the Wednesday (June 17) broadcast.

“Those lives deserve better than just being simply inconvenient statistics for our president’s re-election efforts. It’s a national disgrace,” he added.

Within the last six months, more than 120,000 U.S. citizens have died as a result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Currently, the nation has more than 1.2 million active confirmed cases of the life-threatening virus.

Springsteen later reflected on those losses.

“Instead of celebrating the joys of summer today, we will be contemplating our current circumstances with the coronavirus and the cost that it has drawn from our nation,” he said.

The Dancing in the Dark hit-maker continued: “We will be calculating what we’ve lost, sending prayers for the deceased and the families they have left behind.”

“If you are ready for a rock and roll requiem, stay tuned,” said the multi-time Grammy Award winner before calling out Trump — or “the man sitting behind the resolute desk” — for not wearing a mask during the pandemic.

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“With all respect, sir,” Springsteen said indirectly towards the 73-year-old Republican leader.

“Show some consideration and care for your countrymen and your country.”

“Put on a f—ing mask,” he added,” before introducing Bob Dylan’s 1989 deep-cut Disease of Conceit — one of the many hand-picked tracks featured in the one-hour special Springsteen said he hoped would “lighten (the) burdens” of his listeners.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

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To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.

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