First lady Melania Trump reads a Christmas book called Oliver the Ornament Meets Marley and Joan and Abbey. Photo / AP
First lady Melania Trump reads a Christmas book called Oliver the Ornament Meets Marley and Joan and Abbey. Photo / AP
American First Lady Melania Trump has stirred controversy by reading a book to sick children in a hospital while not wearing a mask.
Melania makes an annual visit to the Children's National Hospital to read to the children and kept the tradition this year despite record coronavirus cases in Washington, DC.
While she arrived at the hospital wearing a mask, she removed it after taking a seat in front of a Christmas tree.
Melania Trump arrived wearing a mask with Sofia Martinez, 8, left, and Riley Whitney, 6, both children who are patients at Children's National Hospital. Photo / AP
Her move was in contravention of the hospital's policy which states: "all staff, families/caregivers and visitors must wear a mask at all times while in any Children's National facility to prevent the spread of Covid-19".
Most of the children watched Melania reading from a live stream but Riley Whitney, 6, and Sophia Martinez, 8, were seated on the floor in front of her as she read.
However when asked for comment, a spokeswoman for the hospital Diana Troese cited statewide regulations — and not the hospital's own policy — saying wearing a mask was not required when a person is giving a speech for broadcast or an audience, provided no one is within six feet (1.8m) of the speaker.
"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," Troese told CNN.
Melania Trump removed her mask but only read to two children - who were more than 6 feet away. Photo / AP
Melania fell sick with the coronavirus at the same time as her husband President Donald Trump in early October.
This means she may have some antibodies to the disease but experts are unsure of how long this offers protection and have still recommended people wear a mask.
Melania also kept her mask off as she was leaving the hospital, while Mariah Carey's Christmas classic All I Want for Christmas is You played but later appeared wearing a mask while participating in a game of holiday bingo.
Ahead of her visit she tweeted some photos of previous events, saying: "Every year I cherish my visit to @ChildrensNatl to read a holiday story to the children & meet with the dedicated & inspiring healthcare professionals. This will be my 4th holiday visit there & I look forward to spending time again with so many brave children & their families."
While some commented on Melania Trump's "lovely smile" and thanked her for everything she did, others criticised her for taking off her mask.
You were in a hospital, yet you refused to follow their policy of wearing a mask on the premises.
Does anything more than appearances matter to you?
"So you're reading to sick children during a pandemic without a mask? That is criminal," one woman tweeted.
"Where's your mask!??! You're with kids!!" another wrote.
But others supported her, with one man saying: "As a parent of young children, I appreciate what you're doing for children and their families, Melania. Good to see you use your position for the greater good."
