The White House is easing its mask mandate in time for President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, according to a memo sent to staff on Monday.
“As of tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1, we are removing the requirement for fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks on the White House campus,” the memorandum reads. It added: “Some people will choose to continue wearing masks to protect themselves. We must respect this choice.”
The policy for unvaccinated people visiting the White House remains unchanged, the spokesman said: they will still be required to be tested, wear masks and practice social distancing. Nearly all White House staff have been vaccinated.
A person familiar with the White House’s guidance on masks said the memorandum was the first step towards reopening the White House in the next few weeks, adding that the president and Jill Biden, the first lady, would be hosting guests at the White House for food. and drinks before turning on Tuesday. And so far, they have not attended White House appetizer events as part of Covid safety protocols.
The congressional physician in charge said on Sunday that the House of Representatives would remove his mask mandate just in time for Mr. Biden’s speech, and that all members of Congress can attend. Many states and cities across the country are also announcing the removal of mandatory masks.
The move by the White House reflects how quickly conditions in the pandemic have changed over the course of weeks, and how much Mr. Biden is eager to symbolically return to normal. Regarding last year’s address to Congress, President performed in front of a masked audience at the Capitol, which was much smaller than usual to ensure social distancing.
Nationally, the United States is currently averaging about 66,000 new coronavirus cases per day. according to the New York Times databasee is a figure that has plummeted from a peak of over 800,000 per day in mid-January to a level comparable to the height of the summer spike in July 2020.
Mr. Biden said in an interview taped for the February 13 Super Bowl that it was “probably premature” states to start ending mask mandates, although he acknowledged the decision was a “difficult challenge” and that efforts to contain the virus came at a cost.
“Omicron and all of its variants have had a profound effect on the American psyche,” he said at the time.
Cathy Rogers contributed to the report.