Trump's wife Melania Trump, on the other hand, strongly promotes wearing a mask in public to restrict the spread of coronavirus. Keeping in line with that, the first lady shared a picture of herself donning a cloth face mask. Melania is the first Trump family member to wear a face-covering in the wake of the COVID-19.
Social distancing is sometimes hard to do, the FLOTUS wrote in a post. Furthermore, she urged people to wear cloth face coverings in public places where practicing social distancing isn't possible. "Remember, this does NOT replace the importance of social distancing," she added.
Before sharing this still photo on her Twitter account, Melania posted a clip of herself holding the face mask in her hands, highlighting the CDC's guidelines. The first lady's visual recommendation of the guidelines for covering face with a cloth face mask follows CDC's decision to update its public guidance.
The federal guidelines were slightly adjusted on Apr. 3. As per the updated guidelines, the CDC recommends Americans to wear non-medical cloth coverings when in public settings, primarily to restrict the coronavirus from spreading through asymptomatic carriers.
A White House official confirmed that Melania taped both video messages that were shared on Thursday, as well as the one she posted on Wednesday to thank frontline workers and medical personnel at the White House. It was initially indicated in the guidelines that face masks aren't necessary for the general public for avoiding getting infected.
At the time of announcing the new guidelines, Trump insisted there were voluntary. "I'm choosing not to do it," the president said.
Donald Trump has been tested twice for coronavirus with both tests turning out to be negative, according to the White House. Moreover, those who interact with the president are also tested, CNN Politics reported.
Melania has also been tested for at least once for COVID-19, a spokeswoman said. The test conducted on Mar. 13 was negative, the spokeswoman confirmed. Shortly after her husband's initial announcement about CDC's updated guidelines, Melania took to her Twitter handle for the first time to share the importance of wearing a face mask.
Her Sunday's message urged people to wear a face mask and take social distancing seriously. During a press briefing, the president was asked about his wife's support for wearing a face mask as he has said he would not wear one.
Responding to the question, Trump said a lot of people, including Melania like the idea, further adding that it is a mere suggestion.