What did UFC commentator Joe Rogan say about COVID-19 lockdown protocols in Australia?

Earlier this month Joe Rogan slammed the Australian government for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around July 29-30, the Australian government decided to deploy unarmed patrol units comprising of trained military personnel. They were tasked with helping to bring the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant in Sydney under control.

The soldiers joined local authorities in virus hotspots to keep people within a 10km (6.2 mile) travel limit. The travel restrictions were introduced because the virus was spreading through permitted movement, as per information provided by health officials. (via BBC)

Australia deployed the military to enforce stay-at-home orders in Melbourne, under strict lockdown after a rise in #COVID19.1 in 4 infected people have been caught breaking isolation.Police say people are defying mask/lockdown orders, claiming to be "sovereign citizens." pic.twitter.com/sKpgOGTGIB

— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 4, 2020

Like many residents of Sydney, Joe Rogan felt this was a violation of civil rights. Addressing it, he criticized the Australian government on an episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. The guest for the episode was North Korean human rights activist Yeonmi Park.

"When you see what's going on in Australia; Australia confiscated all their guns in the 1990s - not saying they should raise up against the government, but there's some crazy sh*t going on there right now. The army is trying to keep people inside in Australia. And one of the things that I read was that as they are doing this, only nine people have died from COVID...because they have full-on government lockdowns, where the government is flying helicopters over and saying, 'Go back indoors, you're not allowed to be outside,' which is crazy. This disease doesn't even transmit well outside. Doesn't make any sense. Like being outside and getting vitamin D from the sun is probably one of the best things you can do." Joe Rogan said.

With the relatively low number of deaths, Joe Rogan believes the kind of strict measures seen in Australia are unreasonable.

"So I think it's nine deaths total since September and they have a full-on government lockdown where the military is locking down the streets... The deaths have gone down. That's the thing. Folks, people die from heart attacks in staggering numbers every year. You're not making the government force people to exercise..."

Catch Rogan's comments on JRE below:

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Joe Rogan tests positive for COVID-19

Despite previously claiming that healthy people are not at risk of contracting COVID-19, Joe Rogan recently tested positive for the virus. He revealed the news in a video posted to his Instagram.

Joe Rogan revealed that after his COVID-19 test came back positive, he "immediately threw the kitchen sink at it" with all kinds of medicine. The medicines seem to be fringe treatment drugs, such as horse de-worming drug Ivermectin and monoclonal antibodies, among others.