Biden is claimed to be carrying a masks in areas of the US the place new CDC pointers apply
President Joe Biden wears a protective mask during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, the United States, on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and White House officials will resume wearing indoor masks when they travel to parts of the nation with high rates of Covid transmission as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prepare updated guidelines in which fully Vaccinated individuals are encouraged to wear face coverings in high-risk areas.
“We will of course adhere to every aspect of the CDC’s guidelines on masking that they are providing this afternoon,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a press conference Tuesday.
“That means we will be ready to wear masks again if necessary,” she said.
Psaki added that on Tuesday morning, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House medical advisor on coronavirus, has been notified of the updated guidelines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to announce the public health measure during a briefing at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
When asked if the White House was disappointed with the expected CDC guidelines, Psaki noted the severity of the nascent Delta variant.
“We are all dealing with an evolving virus for which there is no playbook or historical precedent,” said Psaki.
“The American people should feel confident that we will continue to be guided by science and look at public health data to provide new guidance,” she said.
Two months ago, the CDC announced to fully vaccinated people that they would no longer need to wear masks in most environments, and the White House had dubbed July 4 a “Summer of Freedom” to see progress in the fight against the Celebrating Virus.
However, the highly transmissible Delta variant has since developed into the dominant strain, which has led to a nationwide increase in infections, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. The Biden government, after making great strides in its winter and spring vaccination campaign, has had difficulty increasing vaccination rates in recent weeks.
According to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, the weekly average of daily new Covid infections in the US is more than 57,000, a 65% increase from the previous week. On July 5, the seven-day average of the country’s daily new infections was just below 12,000.
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