President Trump on Friday bumped elbows with a health care executive after shaking hands with numerous other CEOs during a news conference on the coronavirus.
Trump declared a national emergency in the Rose Garden, where he invited a parade of private sector executives involved in efforts to ramp up testing to speak. He shook hands with officials from Walmart, Walgreens and other companies during the press conference.
When Bruce Greenstein, the chief strategy and innovation officer at LHC Group, concluded his remarks, he extended an elbow to Trump.
“OK, I like that,” Trump said with a smile.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged Americans to take precautions, including to stop shaking hands, to avoid transmitting the coronavirus.
Vice President Pence was asked at a press briefing earlier this week whether he and Trump would stop shaking hands as a public health measure.
“As the president has said, in our line of work you shake hands when someone wants to shake your hand,” Pence said. “And I expect the president will continue to do that. I’ll continue to do it. What this is is a broad recommendation for Americans. But a really good recommendation is to wash your hands often.”
Trump, an admitted germaphobe, has shaken hands in recent days with multiple officials who have since gone into self-imposed quarantine after coming into contact with an individual with the virus.