#Ohio lawmaker wants people to stop getting tested for COVID-19

An Ohio lawmaker called for people to stop getting tested for the coronavirus while criticizing a state order that requires some people to wear masks in public.

“Are you tired of living in a dictatorship yet?” Republican state Rep. Nino Vitale wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.

“This is what happens when people go crazy and get tested. STOP GETTING TESTED! It is giving the government an excuse to claim something is happening that is not happening at the magnitude they say it is happening.”

His comments came after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, announced a mandate requiring people in seven Ohio counties — including the areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus — to wear masks in public places, starting this week.

The order states that people in Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Huron, Montgomery and Trumbull counties must wear masks in public places because they have high numbers of COVID-19 cases.

“In addition to social distancing and reducing unnecessary interactions with others, we know that wearing a mask helps protect others in the community,” DeWine said Tuesday before unveiling the order.

“We have seven separate counties with a significant number of people in the state of Ohio who we feel have a huge imminent crisis.”

While health officials have stressed the importance of testing to identify those infected by the virus — and to pinpoint where it’s spreading — some elected officials have downplayed the need for testing.

In May, Vitale introduced legislation that would forbid Ohio officials from requiring masks without a two-thirds majority vote from the Ohio Senate and House.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a cloth face mask in public to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Vitale didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for comment.