First lady Melania Trump sparked backlash when she tweeted on Thursday about the construction of new White House tennis courts.

"I am excited to share the progress of the Tennis Pavillion at @WhiteHouse," she tweeted alongside photos of herself in a hard hat at the construction site.

Critics slammed the announcement as out of touch and even harmful as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus outbreak and deals with the widespread economic fallout.

"People are scared, @FLOTUS," the columnist Connie Schultz tweeted. "Flaunting a lack of empathy inflicts further harm."

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First lady Melania Trump tweeted on Thursday about the construction of a new private White House tennis pavilion amid concern that the Trump administration isn't doing enough to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

"I am excited to share the progress of the Tennis Pavillion at @WhiteHouse," she tweeted alongside photos of herself in a hard hat at the construction site. "Thank you to the talented team for their hard work and dedication."

Critics were quick to condemn Trump's announcement.

"Millions of Americans seek assurance that this administration is doing all that it can to stem spread of the coronavirus, but the First Lady wants us to know she's 'excited' about her new tennis court," Connie Schultz, the newspaper columnist and wife of Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, tweeted on Friday. "People are scared, @FLOTUS. Flaunting a lack of empathy inflicts further harm."

The actor Mia Farrow tweeted: "29 people were killed by a tornado in Tennessee, the world is shuddering as a pandemic expands and what is a tennis pavilion?"

The first lady pushed back against her critics in a tweet on Saturday morning, who she wrote were choosing "to be negative & question my work."

"I encourage everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the @WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities," she tweeted, adding the hashtag for her childhood wellness campaign, #BeBest.

As of Friday, more than 100,000 people had been confirmed to have COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, and more than 3,400 people had died from it. The US has reported more than 240 cases and at least 13 deaths. Global economic growth has been damaged, while the stock market has continued a two-week plunge.

Reports emerged this week that the government was falling far short in its efforts to test people in the US for the virus.

The first lady announced the construction of the pavilion last October, calling it a "functional recreational area for all First Families to enjoy."

"It is my hope that this private space will function as a place to gather and spend leisure time for First Families," she wrote.