NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Former Gov. Chris Christie wrote an op-ed in which he urged Americans to wear masks, saying he was "wrong" to not don one at the Rose Garden nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett last month before testing positive for COVID and being hospitalized.
"I let my guard down and left my mask off," the former New Jersey governor wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Wednesday. "I mistook the bubble of security around the president for a viral safe zone. I was wrong. There is no safe zone from this virus."
Christie wrote that he "felt fine" three days after the presidential debate, for which he helped President Trump prepare. "Then—all within 24 hours—came the fever, chills and body aches, severe pain and utter exhaustion, and hospitalization in the intensive-care unit," he said.
Christie, 58, ended up spending a week at Morristown Medical Center, including in intensive care, as he recovered from the virus.
The former governor went on to urge Americans to wear face coverings, wash their hands and avoid crowds. "These minor inconveniences can save your life, your neighbors and the economy."
He also lamented the politicization of such safety measures, writing that masks are "not a partisan or cultural symbol, not a sign of weakness or virtue."
"Wear it or you may regret it—as I did," he wrote.
Christie said he still supports a "rapid reopening" but that it must correspond with "strong public-health measures" supported by public figures.
"Those in positions of authority have a duty to get the message out," he wrote, adding that leaders have the power to bring the nation together if they "trust the American people with the truth."
"It is never comfortable to deliver real criticism that includes yourself," Christie wrote. "But it was a serious failure for me, as a public figure, to go maskless at the White House. I paid for it, and I hope Americans can learn from my experience. I am lucky to be alive. It could easily have been otherwise."
