Top Republicans over the weekend urged Americans to dine out and socialize, contradicting advice from public-health officials to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It's packed tonight!" Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma said in a tweet he later deleted following a backlash.

"If you're healthy, you and your family, it's a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easy," Rep. Devin Nunes of California told Fox News. "Let's not hurt the working people in this country ... go to your local pub."

The CDC on Sunday requested Americans avoid groups of 50 or more people. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious-disease expert, said the nationwide closing of bars and restaurants was being considered.

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Top Republicans took to the airwaves and social media over the weekend to encourage Americans to go to bars and restaurants and socialize in what critics said was a dangerous break from advice from top public-health officials to avoid large crowds to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

On Saturday night, Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma tweeted a picture of himself and his family enjoying a night out at a crowded local restaurant with the caption: "Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It's packed tonight!"

He later deleted the message after a backlash to the tweet. On Sunday he declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma in response to the crisis.

Stitt's office told CNN in an email that Stitt's position "has not changed from the instructions he gave Oklahomans on Thursday: Use good common sense, follow the recommended health precautions, protect the elderly and vulnerable populations, but continue to remain calm, live your life and support local businesses."

Rep. Devin Nunes, a top congressional ally of President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday morning told viewers: "If you're healthy, you and your family, it's a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easy. Let's not hurt the working people in this country ... go to your local pub."

His constituents in California will have trouble following the advice, as on Sunday the state's governor ordered the closing of bars and the partial closing of restaurants in response to the virus.

And on Sunday morning, David Clarke, the former Milwaukee sheriff who is a prominent supporter of Trump, went a step further. He told his 916,000 Twitter followers that the restrictions being imposed were part of a government plot.

"GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS. Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools re-open," he tweeted.

"NOW! If government doesn't stop this foolishness ... STAY IN THE STREETS. END GOVERNEMNT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS."

The advice from the three prominent backers of the president came as top public-health officials issued new advice meant to stem the virus' spread, as the number of COVID-19 infections in the US rose past 3,000.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and top public-health officials are urging Americans to practice "social distancing" in the fight against the spread of the disease. On Sunday, the CDC issued new advice urging American to avoid social gatherings of 50 people or more, as states and cities across the US ordered restaurants and bars to do takeout only and closed closing schools.

"Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing," the CDC said. "When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual."

Dr. Antony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, in an interview on CNN on Sunday said he was not ruling out a national closing of bars and restaurants in the fight against the disease and would "like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see" in those places.

"We need to be very serious about — for a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States," he said. "We have to just accept that if we want to do what's best for the American public."

In a sign of the partisan divide that is influencing even how Americans respond to the pandemic, a poll by NBC News on Sunday found that while 61% of Democrats said they would avoid gatherings during the crisis, only 30% of Republicans said they would, and while 36% of Democrats said they would avoid restaurants, only 12% of Republicans said this was a measure they were taking.

Republicans have faced criticism for their messaging during the crisis.

Speaking on MSNBC, Dr. Leana Wen, a former health commissioner for Baltimore, said Nunes' advice was "exactly the opposite of what we should be doing right now."

"Irresponsible, dangerous, stupid," Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California tweeted in response to Nunes' claims.

There was also pushback to Stitt's tweet before he removed it.

Clarke's tweet also attracted widespread criticism.