The COVID-related death of New Hampshire's state speaker prompted Gov. Chris Sununu to blast fellow Republican politicians who have refused to wear a mask.
Dick Hinch, the 71-year-old newly elected Speaker of the House, was found dead in his home Wednesday. An an autopsy determined the cause of death was COVID-19.
"For those who are just out there doing the opposite just to make some ridiculous political point, it is horribly wrong,'' Sununu said Thursday per Fox News.com. ''Please use your heads. Don’t act like a bunch of children, frankly.''
One conservative state lawmaker, wishing to remain anonymous, criticized Sununu for his comments.
"I don’t think his comments were appropriate,'' the lawmaker told Fox News. "I don’t necessarily think it was appropriate the way it went down. That’s the kind of stuff you try to take care of in your own house."
Hinch's death came amid a fierce debate in New Hampshire over wearing masks. The late speaker and about 50 fellow Republicans were photographed not wearing masks while celebrating election results on Nov. 9 after the party regained a majority in both the state House and Senate.
Eleven days later, on the day Sununu signed an executive order mandating mask-wearing, Republican state representatives gathered for an indoor caucus meeting in which there was a lack of mask-wearing and social distancing. It later was determined at least four lawmakers contracted COVID-19 at that meeting.
Another New Hampshire Republican was even more critical of his maskless colleagues than Sununu.
"Those in our caucus who refused to take precautions are responsible for Dick Hinch’s death," state Rep. William Marsh, a retired doctor, wrote on Twitter.
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