President Donald Trump on Saturday traveled to one of his golf clubs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The president went to Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. His motorcade arrived at 10:27 a.m.
An employee at the club, reached by The Epoch Times, said it has been open throughout the pandemic.
Trump has not been to a golf club since March 8. He declared a national emergency because of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus a few days later.
He was wearing a white polo shirt and a white baseball cap on Saturday.
Northern Virginia is still in “phase zero” of Gov. Ralph Northam’s reopening plan. Loudoun County, which includes Sterling, is among the Northern Virginia locales that asked for, and received, permission from Northam not to enter phase one last week when the rest of the state did.
Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said people going outside this weekend should practice social distancing.
Golf players should “not touch the flags,” she said, while tennis players should use marked balls so they’re only touching their own balls.
“We found people who enjoy sports have been able to really adjust to social distancing,” she told reporters at the White House on Friday.
The top three areas with the largest percentage of new CCP virus cases in recent weeks are Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, according to federal data.
“There is still significant virus circulating” in the two states and the nation’s capital, Birx said.
Urging people to maintain six feet distance from others, Birx said a lot of healthy people have the CCP virus. Health officials recently estimated about one-third of infected never show symptoms of the virus.
People can go outside and gather in groups for Memorial Day but should take precautions like using single-use utensils that are immediately thrown out.
“There’s a lot of things to think through. I know you can do this. I know the American people can do this,” Birx said.
“Please, as you go out this weekend, understand that you can be outside and you can play golf, you can play tennis with marked balls. You can go to the beaches if you stay six feet apart. But remember that is your space. And that is the space you need to protect to ensure you are social distancing for others. Thank you.”
