US President Donald Trump, who has avoided wearing a mask in public even as the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the country, wore a mask for the fist time on Saturday (July 11) while visiting a military medical facility outside Washington. Trump went to the medical center in Bethesda, Maryland to meet with wounded soldiers and front-line health-care workers.
"I'll probably have a mask if you must know. I'll probably have a mask. I think when you're in a hospital especially in that particular setting, where you are talking to a lot of soldiers, people that in some cases just got off the operating table. I think it's a great thing to wear a mask. I've never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place," Trump told reporters ahead of his visit.
Trump was spotted wearing a black-coloured mask while walking with staff, who also were wearing masks. The US president, however, preferred not to talk to the reporters with his mask on. This is the first time since the coronavirus outbreak that Trump was spotted wearing a mask in public.
Former vice president Joe Biden's campaign responded to Trump's decision to wear a mask with Biden's spokesman Andrew Bates, saying the President "wasted" several days discouraging the Americans from wearing masks while Biden "has led by example from the start."
"Donald Trump spent months ignoring the advice of medical experts and politicizing wearing a mask, one of the most important things we can do to prevent the spread of the virus," Bates said in a statement.
It is to be noted that in recent weeks, several people who are close to President Trump have tested positive for coronavirus. His son Donald Jr’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, tested positive for the deadly virus before his July 3 rally at Mount Rushmore.
