The first ladies are visiting National Children’s Hospital Vacations in Washington, DC for decades – and even the global pandemic did not stop the tradition. But, Melania Trump’s fourth and final festive visit as First Lady on Tuesday looked a little different than last season.
“Every year I love a visit to ‘Children’s Knot’ to read a holiday article for children and to meet with dedicated and exciting health care professionals.” Trump tweeted Tuesday, Sharing photos of the event from previous years. “It will be my 4th vacation visit there and I look forward to spending time again with so many brave kids and their families.”
The hospital adjusted the event program to make the visit between epidemics as safe as possible, Associated Press Reports.
Trump still sits in a chair in front of a huge, luxuriously decorated Christmas tree in the atrium of the facility to do his annual reading, but the audience is much smaller than in previous years. Instead of reading to a large group of patients and their families, hospital staff and demonstrators, Trump a The hospital posted a Facebook live video Going out to the tree in front of a few people.
Two patients, 6-year-old Riley Whitney and 8-year-old Sophia Martinez, sat in front of the first lady on the red carpet as she read, AP reports.
“It’s so wonderful to be here. It’s one of my favorite events of the holiday season,” Todd Zimmerman said before reading the children’s story “Oliver the Jewel Meet Marley & Joan and Abbey.” The story is part of the holiday “Oliver jewelry“The series of books that Trump says she started reading three years ago.
She asked the children to “be strong and neat” before kicking the story.
A hospital spokesman told CBS News via email that everyone at the event was wearing masks and practicing social distance. The place is closed to hospital visitors.
The first woman to read the video expressed concern that she had removed her face mask and violated hospital guidelines.
“All staff, families / caregivers and visitors must wear a mask at all times in any child’s national facility to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” The website states.
A hospital spokesman told CBS News that the hospital’s website “does not have a mask for those who come to the hospital to make a speech.”
“First Lady followed our mask protocols for public speakers, which is the basis DC Health Guidance, Stated that there is no need for a person to wear a mask when broadcasting or speaking for the audience, no one is within six feet of the speaker, ”the spokesman said.
The hospital said she was “more than twelve feet away from the others in our four-story atrium” when Trump removed her mask for reading. The spokeswoman confirmed that the first lady was wearing a mask for the rest of her visit, saying she had not visited the patient care areas.
Jacqueline Martin / POOL / AFP by Getty Images
The reading was broadcast via the hospital’s closed-circuit TV system so that patients could hear from their rooms, AP reports. After reading, Bingo was involved in calling Trump numbers during the game. According to the AP, children play games twice a week to give them mental relaxation from their situations.
“Our deepest thanks to Mrs. Trump for joining every First Lady from Bess Truman in giving a holiday to children who are hospitalized and unable to stay home at this special time,” said Chief Executive Officer Dr Kurt Newman Hospital, AP.
The trip comes as the coronavirus continues to rage across the country. Over 300,000 Americans are now dead due to coronavirus, according to information from Johns Hopkins University. The country crossed a terrible milestone when the first Americans began to receive Pfizer’s newly authorized coronavirus vaccine.
The first lady is busy preparing for the holidays 2020 White House Christmas Decorations And the theme: “America the Beautiful” at the end of last month. The discovery was made Less than two months After airing secret recordings from June 2018 CNN, In which she lamented about getting ready for the holidays at the White House.
CBS News did not independently certify the recordings.
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