Following updated guidance from the CDC, the House of Representatives is reinstating its mask mandate, and those who don’t follow are subject to hefty fines.
“For the Congress, representing a collection of individuals traveling weekly from various risk areas (both high and low rates of disease transmission), all individuals should wear a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask (for example an ear loop surgical mask or a KN95 mask) when they are in an interior space,” House Attending Physician Brian Monahan said in a letter to Congressional staffers.
This updated guidance includes all House office buildings, the House chamber and committee meetings. The only exceptions, Monahan said, were for those who are actively speaking, seeking recognition from a chair at a committee hearing, or those who are alone in a room, per Fox News.
“To be clear, for meetings in an enclosed U.S. House of Representatives controlled space, masks are REQUIRED,” Monahan said. “Failure to wear a mask in the Hall of the House is subject to fines imposed for violation as contained in the previous House rule.”
“In the past two weeks,” he continued, “USA coronavirus cases have significantly increased, now approaching 100,000 cases per day. The Delta variant virus has been detected in Washington, DC and in the Capitol buildings. It represents a dire health risk to unvaccinated individuals and is not without some risk to the vaccinated individuals or their unvaccinated household contacts.”
He added: “Despite the excellent protective value of the coronavirus vaccine in preventing hospitalization and death, there is still a possibility a fully-vaccinated individual could acquire infection in their nose and throat, mild symptoms, or the ability to transmit the coronavirus infection to others.”
The White House also appears to be masking up once again. A representative was seen Tuesday swapping a sign that said unvaccinated people are required to wear masks with another one saying masks are required regardless of vaccination status.
This comes after the CDC’s Tuesday announcement that vaccinated people should wear masks indoors, which is likely to undermine faith in the vaccine.
Now we are left to wonder: is all of America next?
