As the pandemic tears through California, some counties begin shutdowns

Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Irvine, pointed out that many people simply refuse to believe the pandemic is a serious public health crisis and are ignoring the mandates on wearing masks and social distancing. “There’s a lot of people who are actively defying the public health orders. They think it’s a hoax,” Noymer said. “There’s a part of the country that’s treating the pandemic as though it’s a conspiracy theory foisted on them.”