‘Wearing a mask is patriotic,’ says Pres. Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted an image of himself wearing a mask and called it “patriotic” on Monday (local time). He said briefings on COVID-19 would return after a three-month suspension and he would be there as well. President Trump dramatically changed his stance as the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are crawling up towards four million and many criticize his response against the coronavirus when the presidential election is to be held in some 100 days.

“We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance,” Trump tweeted on the same day along with a photo of himself wearing a mask at his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!” he added. He tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask, which came six months after the first COVID-19 patient was confirmed in the nation in late January.

President Trump plans to resume the COVID-19 Task Force briefings in the White House, which had been suspended for three months. “I think what we’re going to do is I’ll get involved and we’ll start doing briefings,” he said regarding the flare-ups in Florida and other states in a press briefing. “It’s a great way to get information out to the public as to where we are with the vaccines, with the therapeutics.” The briefings will be resumed on 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Some states including Florida with a spike in the number of new cases are reviewing another lockdown. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned hundreds of young New Yorkers who occupied the streets in some areas in New York City including Queens and Manhattan that he could potentially roll back the reopening plan if they do not keep social distancing rules.


lightee@donga.com