Chris Rock says less than half of Brooklynites wear masks amid coronavirus

Less than half of Brooklynites are wearing masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus, comedian Chris Rock estimated Thursday in his guest appearance at Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press briefing, saying it’s seen by some as a “status symbol” to go bare-faced.

“In Brooklyn, I’m seeing probably 40 percent of people wearing masks,” said Rock. “It’s the kids who really aren’t wearing a mask, and you know, it’s sad.

“It’s sad that our health has become, you know, a sort of political issue. … It’s a status symbol, almost, to not wear a mask.”

The former “Saturday Night Live” star, who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Brooklyn native Rosie Perez joined Cuomo for his daily coronavirus briefing at the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in hard-hit Flatbush, where it was announced that they would partner with the state to promote wearing masks, getting tested, social distancing and other precautions.

“We’re soldiers for New York,” said Cuomo. “It’s 100,000 dead Americans.”

Rock, 55, who actually lives in Alpine, NJ now but still has family in Brooklyn, said that while most people “try to mind their business” when they see someone not wearing a mask, he’ll occasionally shoot them “a nice side-eye.”

Perez, who lives in Clinton Hill, said that she tries a different approach, trying to win over those who flout the rules.

“I try to bring some levity into the equation. I say, ‘Hey, do the right thing,’” said the actress, in a nod to the title of the Brooklyn-set 1989 Spike Lee film that launched her career.

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