White House defends Donald Trump for not wearing mask during Atlanta visit

While Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said US President Donald Trump ‘disregarded city rules’ by not wearing a mask during his visit, the White House has now clarified that he was following the guidelines by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told an international media outlet on July 15 that Trump takes the health and safety of the public and the people who are travelling with him for White House operations ‘very seriously’. 

While giving a statement to an American news network, Deere said that when the preparation for the travel by the US President is being carried out, the White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to Trump and the White House Military Office. This is done to ensure that the plans are incorporated by the current guidelines by CDC guidelines and adhere to the best measures that contain the spread of deadly coronavirus ‘to the greatest extent possible’.

The White House’s clarification came after Bottoms, who is also one of the top prospects to Democratic nominee Joe Biden, said that she was not surprised by Trump’s decision of not wearing a mask and ‘violate the law in the city of Atlanta. Donald Trump only wore the facemask for the first time during his visit to Walter Reed Medical Center on July 11.

The Atlanta mayor also told the international media outlet that despite Trump not wearing a mask, it was ‘encouraging’ to see that some people did have regard to what the administration is trying to accomplish with the COVID-19 situation in the city. Bottoms' comments came amid a separate dispute with Republican Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp who argued that her rule of making masks mandatory goes beyond the measures that he is out in place. 

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'Political nonsense'

While administrations have politicised the coronavirus outbreak and the country's response to the crisis amid an indirect row between America's medical professionals and the White House, US top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has advised the people to refrain from involving in “political nonsense” and listen to the scientists. He even denoted politicization of COVID-19 pandemic as a “waste of time”. While the coronavirus infections in the United States have surpassed 3.4 million with over 137,400, Fauci urged people to take the advice of medical authorities who have the track record of delivering the truth based on evidence and data. 

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