/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1211995037/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=4857&cropY1=0&cropY2=2487&w=1920&resize=1920,0&ssl=1 "Trump, Senators Eschew Masks As D.C. Coronavirus Cases Continue To Rise")
TOPLINE
Several senators and the president were seen on Wednesday in close quarters with others not wearing masks, even as the number of coronavirus cases in Washington D.C., continues to rise and after Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday he should’ve worn a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 06: As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues in the United States, President … [+]
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KEY FACTS
Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason tweeted photos of President Trump and a group of nurses gathered in the Oval Office barefaced and grouped close together.
Trump said the nurses had all been tested — “I hope the test works,” he quipped.
This follows criticism over Trump’s visit to a Honeywell N95 mask factory during which he was photographed wearing goggles but no mask in an area with a sign posted that read, “face mask required in this area.”
Trump told Mason on Wednesday that “he wore one backstage and the Honeywell chief said it was not necessary to wear in the plant.”
Vice President Pence also drew rebukes for not wearing a mask during a visit to a mayo clinic in April, which he now says he should have.
On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Sen. Rand Paul, (R-Ky.), and Sen. Ron Johnson, (R-Wisc.) went maskless at a roll call vote, unlike most of their colleagues.
Sen. Tom Cotton, (R-Ark.), and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D-Calif.), were both spotted in the Capitol without masks on Wednesday, as were several capitol police officers, Politico Playbook author Jake Sherman reported.
At a confirmation hearing for judicial nominee Justin Walker, senators and Walker came into the chamber with masks but took them off during the proceedings, Courthouse News reporter Megan Mineiro reported.
Key background
Coronavirus is still prevalent in the District of Columbia, which reported 665 new cases and 139 deaths Tuesday, making for a total of nearly 25,000 cases and 5,461 deaths. Unlike the Senate, the House last week opted to heed the warning of Brian P. Monahan, Congress’ attending physician, who said returning to session amid the ongoing pandemic posed too great a risk to members. Monahan has also said there aren’t enough tests for senators.
Chief Critic
Paul, who was criticized in March for interacting with other senators even as he was awaiting the results of a coronavirus test that eventually came back positive, claimed he didn’t need to wear a mask because he has ‘immunity’ from the virus. Medical experts say it is not yet known whether people who have recovered from COVID-19 can be reinfected or not.
Tangent
One lawmaker who was wearing a mask at Tuesday’s roll call vote was Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who was also donning a purple wig. Sinema told NPR she wore the wig to “set an example of social distancing from hair salons.”
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