While not the cure to the infection, shutdown is said to be the best defense that humans now have against the virus, so that it will not spread further. However, months into this pandemic already, some people still cannot understand why Covid-19 shutdowns are even necessary. Dr. Phil is one of these and people are not letting him get away with it.

The popular doctor spoke to Fox News with regard to the coronavirus and said something that had the Internet blowing up and criticizing him.

Dr. Phil Whines about Lockdown, Says Coronavirus Should Not Be Taken Seriously

The violent reaction was not surprising, considering the fact that Dr. Phil, a psychologist and not a medical doctor as assumed by some, showed his ignorance over the coronavirus issue.

He said he is presently wondering why the country is being so serious with regard to the coronavirus when there are more serious deadly causes such as accidents and drowning. If this is not annoying enough, he said something that enraged people further. According to him, all the shutdowns from the coronavirus are worse than the actual infection.

"There's a point in which people start having enough problems in lockdown that it will actually create more destruction and more death across time than the actual virus itself," Dr. Phil claimed. "The poverty line is getting such that more people are going to fall below that because the economy is crashing around us."

He further contrasted dying from coronavirus to drying from the other major causes of death in the United States. This naturally made more people frustrated. He compared the present death rates of coronavirus in the United States, to death rates associated with automobile accidents, cigarettes, and drowning.

After saying this, he implied that it is ironic that no country is being shut down from the other causes of deaths he mentioned. He then explained that the fallout that is going to happen from this lockdown can create a long-lasting downturn, and some lives might end up being totally destroyed.

Twitter Users Bash Dr. Phil, Calls for Oprah

Naturally, his warning came out wrong, triggering Twitter users to bash him. They pointed out that coronavirus is not the same as the sicknesses he announced because this one is contagious. Some called him stupid

Someone needs to explain to Dr. Phil that a deadly disease is different to automobile deaths, cigarette-related deaths and swimming pool deaths," one said.

Another wrote in a sarcastic manner, "Yeah I remember that one time I caught the cigarette flu from another person. Dr. Phil, it's a good thing your level of stupidity isn't contagious."

Others highlighted the fact that he is not even a medical doctor to be consulted over the manner. One advised Twitter users to ignore what he said because he obviously has no credence on the topic of coronavirus.

US Today implies that giving doctors like him a platform to speak can do more harm than good. Some wants Oprah to straighten out Dr. Phil; she created him after all. He rose to fame in the 90s because Oprah consulted him for professional counseling.

Dr. Phil Changes His Tune

On his part, after realizing what his words had caused, Dr. Phil went to his daily live video chat and said that he was wrong to use smoking, vehicle accidents and swimming as examples.

He said these are bad examples after all and know that they are not contagious like coronavirus.

He clarified that there is a need to cooperate with government guidelines but since he is a psychologist, he worries too about the psychological toll of the lockdown and hope that there are coping strategies that can be imparted to people who would be locked down for a long time.

Tags
Dr phil, COVID-19, Oprah