Ben Affleck's daughter demands mask mandates in L.A. during passionate council speech

The daughter of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck recently gave a passionate speech at a Los Angeles city board meeting, demanding that mask mandates be put in effect in L.A. hospitals.

Violet Affleck, 18, discussed a post-viral condition she contracted in 2019 and her experience with recovering from viruses while she pleaded with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

“The county must oppose mask bans for any reason,” she said during Tuesday’s meeting.

A clip of the meeting was shared on social media and showed Affleck introducing herself during the public comments section of the meeting. After pleasantries were exchanged, she shared why she was asking for the implementation of mask mandates.

“I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019,” Affleck said while also wearing a mask. “I’m OK 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.”

A post-viral condition occurs following a viral infection and can last for months, according to the Mayo Clinic . Symptoms often include fatigue, lethargy, memory loss, inability to focus, and exhaustion.

Long COVID is a post-viral condition that many have continued to struggle with after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Affleck touched on this in her speech, saying, “One in 10 infections leads to long COVID, which is a devastating neurological and cardiovascular illness that can take away people’s ability to work, see, move, and even think.”

“It stands to exacerbate our homelessness crisis, as well as the suffering of many people in our city,” she added. “It hits communities of color, disabled people, elderly people, trans people, women, and anyone in a public-facing essential job the hardest.”

As a solution for what she called the long COVID crisis, Affleck said that she is demanding “mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC lights in government facilities, including jails and detention centers, and mask mandates in county medical facilities.”

In February, Los Angeles public health officials announced a change to its masking requirements, doing away with mandates for employees and visitors at healthcare facilities.

However, Affleck argued that this wasn’t the right call and that more effort should be put forth to keep people safe.

“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. Thank you.”