- A visit by President
Donald Trump to a Pennsylvania mask factory was postponed over concerns that his visit could help spread thecoronavirus , The Washington Post reported. - Trump was due to visit a Braskem America factory last Friday, but the factory asked him not to come, as it could harm workers' safety and the factory's mask output. the Post said.
- Trump has been criticised for visiting another mask factory while not wearing one himself.
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A Pennsylvania mask factory postponed a planned visit from President Donald Trump because it worried the event could spread the coronavirus among workers.
The Washington Post reported that Trump was due to visit a Braskem America factory last Friday to thank workers who are making personal protective equipment (PPE).
But, citing documents and two people familiar with the decision, the Post's report said that the factory asked to postpone the visit due to concerns that Trump's visit could jeopardize workers' safety.
Factory bosses also worried the visit could harm the factory's ability to make the materials for masks and other medical materials.
The cancellation comes after Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have been criticised for how they have handled similar events.
Trump was pictured in early May touring a Honeywell mask-making factory without wearing a mask himself, though he later said he wore a mask "backstage."
Trump and Pence also work with at least a dozen people who have tested positive for the coronavirus over the last week, including Pence's press secretary Katie Miller and one of Trump's valets.
Under US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, anyone who has been exposed to someone who has caught the coronavirus should stay at home for 14 days.
The CDC also asks Americans to wear cloth face coverings in public, and Trump has ordered White House staffers to follow the guidance.
But The Washington Post previously reported that Trump is not following the rule, and believes it unnecessary as he is regularly tested for the virus.
Trump said in April, after the CDC released its new guidance: "I don't think I'm going to be doing it... Wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens — I just don't see it."
The Associated Press reported that Trump is concerned that wearing a mask in public would make him look bad on TV and harm his reelection chances.
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