Melania Trump under fire for not wearing a mask to vote

US first lady tested positive for coronavirus on 2 October

US first lady Melania Trump has been criticised for voting without wearing a face mask, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, Ms Trump, 50, voted at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Centre in Palm Beach, Florida, but was pictured entering and leaving the voting centre without wearing a face covering.

On Twitter, Washington Post journalist Mike Madden quoted a press pool report that read: “At 10 am, Melania Trump entered the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Centre in Palm Beach to vote.

“She was the only person not wearing a mask.”

The first lady tested positive for Covid-19 on 2 October, at the same time as her husband President Donald Trump.

The 50-year-old recently joined the campaign trail, after she revealed that she had recovered from the virus. It is still unknown how long immunity to coronavirus lasts, as at least five cases of reinfection have been reported worldwide.

Social media users quickly reacted to footage of Ms Trump not wearing a mask at the polling station, with The Daily Beast editor-at-large Molly Jong-Fast tweeting: “It’s like the Trump administration owns stock in coronavirus.”

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 9.3 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 231,665.

CNN contributor Rachel Sklar reacted to images of Ms Trump: “The jacket, confirmed: She really doesn’t care,” in reference to a coat the first lady wore on a visit to see migrant children. She later said that the phrase “I really don’t care” was aimed at her critics.

While actress Patricia Arquette asked: “She just had Covid and she can’t wear a mask?”

President Trump voted early in-person in Florida a couple of weeks ago, but Ms Trump told reporters on Tuesday that she wanted to vote on election day.

“It’s election day, so I wanted to come here to vote today for the election,” she said outside the Florida polling station.

On Sunday, Bloomberg reported that the first lady told her staff earlier in the year to work from home unless they needed to be in the office, and ordered them to wear face masks at all times.

The first lady was reportedly concerned about the number of White House aides not wearing face masks, and limited her travelling because of a relaxed approach to social distancing by staff members.

Bloomberg also reported that when she met maskless members of Congress in a conference room earlier in the year, she later told an aide: “What is wrong with these people?”

President Donald Trump only started wearing a face mask in public in July, and spent the first few months of the pandemic downplaying the need for them. This attitude was adopted by many of his supporters.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden is leading President Trump in national polls and in key battleground states, as the last day of voting commences across the US.