WASHINGTON (News Nation) — President Donald Trump Monday tweeted a photo of himself wearing a face mask, saying it’s “patriotic” to wear one when you can’t social distance.
“Many people say it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance,” Trump said on Twitter.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first recommended people wear non-medical cloth face coverings on April 3, specifically in situations when adhering to social distancing can be difficult.
During the coronavirus task force briefing on April 3, the President acknowledged the guidance, noted that it was voluntary, and said he would not be choosing to wear one himself. Trump’s tweet comes one day before he is set to resume the coronavirus briefings after a three-month hiatus.
“I think it’s a great way to get information out to the public,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, saying he hopes to discuss progress on vaccines and therapeutics.
On July 11, President Trump was seen publicly wearing a mask for the first time since the pandemic began, during a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center.
As he left the White House, he told reporters: “When you’re in a hospital, especially … I think it’s a great thing to wear a mask.”
The only other time Trump has been known to wear a mask was during a private part of a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan.
The CDC updated their face-covering guidelines as recently as July 16:
- CDC recommends that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
- Cloth face coverings may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others.
- Cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings.
- Cloth face coverings should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report