Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Saul Loeb/Pool through AP
Sen. Marco Rubio mocked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for carrying a masks and face protect in the Philippines.
The Philippines, which is present process a spike in COVID-19, requires masks and face shields in public.
Rubio’s house state of Florida is coping with a surge of its personal, with hospitalizations on the rise.
See extra tales on Insider’s enterprise web page.
Sen. Marco Rubio mocked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday for carrying a masks and face protect upon arriving in the Philippines.
“Our @SecDef is vaccinated,” Rubio wrote in a tweet alongside a video that confirmed Austin deplaning. “But he arrives in the Philippines wearing a mask AND a face shield.”
“Embarrassing COVID theatre,” he continued.
The Philippines requires anybody in public locations to put on a masks and a face protect, in accordance with the US Embassy in the Philippines. Some of the individuals Austin is greeted by in the video are carrying masks and face shields as properly.
Read extra: Vaccine mandates are coming, and it is about time
The Philippines is additionally going through a surge in COVID-19, prompting authorities in Manila to impose tighter coronavirus restrictions this week. Reuters reported Tuesday that the Philippines recorded its highest single-day enhance in COVID-19 instances in greater than six weeks. The nation has the second-highest variety of COVID-19 instances in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia, in accordance with The New York Times.
Rubio’s house state of Florida is coping with its personal COVID-19 surge. The state leads the US in COVID-19 instances, and has the highest variety of residents hospitalized with COVID-19 per capita, in accordance with information compiled by the Times. It additionally has the second-highest variety of COVID-19 instances per capita, after Louisiana.
Austin met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte throughout his go to. After the assembly, Duterte reversed a previous determination to withdraw from a protection pact with the US, the Visiting Forces Agreement, the Associated Press reported. The VFA permits the large-scale fight workouts between the US and Philippines forces, which have sometimes sparked concern from China.
“Our countries face a range of challenges, from the climate crises to the pandemic and, as we do, a strong, resilient US-Philippine alliance will remain vital to the security, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific,” Austin stated. “A fully restored VFA will help us achieve that goal together.”
Read the authentic article on Business Insider
