White House chief of staff Mark Meadows refused to wear his face mask while speaking to reporters Monday outside the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Meadows has spent several days in close proximity to President Donald Trump, who is reportedly also refusing to wear a mask in the White House even though he was diagnosed with COVID-19 just over 10 days ago. Meadows’ exposure to Trump since the president was discharged from Walter Reed hospital could make him a strong candidate for contracting COVID-19 and possibly being infectious. Before speaking to journalists in the hallway during a break in the hearing, Meadows pulled a microphone stand away from them — and removed his face mask. When CNN reporter Kristin Wilson objected, Meadows replied: “I’m more than 10 feet away,”Then he immediately left in a huff back to the hearing room, announcing: “I’m not going to talk through a mask.”

Source: Huffington Post October 12, 2020 23:48 UTC