Republican Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana offered a mea culpa on Sunday.
After announcing plans to reopen some businesses in the state and touting the need for face masks during the reopening period, Holcomb posed for a maskless selfie with two women in a restaurant.
Holcomb was tagged in the photo Saturday with two women also not wearing face coverings at Hobnob Corner in Nashville, Indiana.
The photo was subsequently deleted from social media or made private.
In addition to not wearing his face mask, Holcomb didn't adhere to social distancing guidelines. Those recommendations have been in effect since early March.
In a statement sent to WTHR Channel 13, Holcomb said:
"I ordered take out for dinner and ran in to pick it up, leaving my mask in the car. It was a lapse in my usual vigilance. I should have gone back out to the car to get my mask."
"My apologies to all the healthcare professionals and Hoosiers who are working so hard to slow the spread. This is… a timely reminder that even a six second snap of a picture requires following the doctors' recommendation to wear a mask while in public. Lesson learned."
You can see WTHR's report about Holcomb's lapse here:
People in Indiana and across the country voiced their displeasure with the governor's choices.
Hobnob Corner is a popular restaurant in Brown County. At least 18 people in the county were diagnosed with the virus behind the guidance. One person has died.
The total confirmed cases in Indiana is at 19,295 as of Monday night. The death toll in Indiana reached 1,115.
The book Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs is available here.
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