Melania Trump sparked some controversy after removing her face mask while reading to patients at a children’s hospital. According to CNN, the First Lady visited Children’s National Hospital on Tuesday, keeping an annual tradition that she began the first year of her husband’s presidency. While she arrived at the hospital wearing a mask, she is said to have removed it when she sat down to read to the children.
CNN notes that the hospital does have a strict mask policy, which dictates, “Everyone must wear a mask at all times while in any Children’s National facility to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” Everyone coming to the facility is required to be “wearing a mask when entering any Children’s National building, as mandated by area officials. This includes all public places, such as the hallway and cafeteria,” and “wearing a mask at all times when you are around other individuals.”
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While Trump’s camp did not issue a direct statement about the controversy, CNN pointed out that the White House eventually issued its own readout of the event, seemingly addressing the First Lady’s actions. “Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event was limited in numbers of in-person participants and all guests were required to wear face masks and adhere to social distancing,” the statement read. “The visit followed the hospital’s mask protocols for public speakers, based on the District of Columbia health guidance, that wearing a mask is not required when a person is giving a speech for broadcast or an audience, provided no one is within six feet of the speaker. Throughout the holiday program, the First Lady was more than twelve feet away from others in the four-story atrium. Today’s visit, broadcast to 325 inpatient hospital rooms, followed these guidelines.”
CNN also reached out to Children’s National spokeswoman Diana Troese for comment on the situation, and she responded by citing Washington, DC, health regulations, rather than the hospital’s posted policy. “Our number one priority at Children’s National Hospital is the safety of our patients, families and employees. Under DC Health regulations, wearing a mask is not required when a person is giving a speech for broadcast or an audience, provided no one is within six feet of the speaker,” she said. “In the case of today’s visit which was broadcast to our 325 patients, while the First Lady did remove her mask while she read a story, she was more than 12 feet away from others in our large atrium. All other people in that space were wearing masks. The remainder of her visit, she wore a mask.”
