Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter Violet Affleck demanded mask mandates at a recent meeting of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
Violet, 18, wears an N95 respirator mask wherever she goes after suffering a “post-viral condition” in 2019.
She is pictured above with her mother, Jennifer Garner.
Violet introduced herself to the supervisors as a “Los Angeles resident” and “first-time voter.” She warned of the risks to “vulnerable members of our community”.
“I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019,” Violet said. “I’m okay now, but I saw firsthand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown that into sharper relief,” she said.
“One in 10 [COVID-19] infections leads to long COVID, which is a devastating neurological and cardiovascular illness that can take away people’s ability to work, move, see, and even think. It stands to exacerbate our homelessness crisis, as well as the suffering of many people in our city” she said, speaking quickly in the one minute allowed.
“It hits communities of color, disabled people, elderly people, trans people, women, and anyone in a public-facing essential job the hardest,” she continued.
Violet, pictured with stepmother Jennifer Lopez, stopped often to catch her breath. She seemed to have difficulty breathing through the N95 respirator, typically worn by painters and industrial workers.
Violet asked the supervisors to require face mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC lights to sterilize the air in government facilities, including jails and detention centers. She also advocated for the return of mask mandates in county medical facilities.
“We must expand the availability of free tests and treatment and, most importantly, the county must oppose mask bans for any reason,” she said. “They do not keep us safer, they make vulnerable members of our community less safe and make everyone less able to participate in Los Angeles together.”
