Michael Pence said he’s regularly tested for coronavirus.
During a visit to a clinic in Minnesota on Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Michael Pence ignored the recommendation to cover his face with a tissue mask because he was not infected with a new type of coronavirus. He set out his position in a conversation with journalists.
They wondered why the Vice-President of the country, unlike all the officials accompanying him, did not use the mask.
“As Vice President of the United States, I regularly pass coronavirus tests, all the people around me do the same. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in recommending masks, recognized that potential coronavirus carriers can prevent the virus from being transmitted to others in this way”, – CNN’s Pence’s response says.
“Since I don’t have coronavirus, I thought the visit was a good opportunity to look the staff right in the eye and thank them”, – he added.
The U.S. Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adjusted their position in early April to recommend that Americans cover their faces with tissue masks. U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear that he himself would not wear this personal protective equipment, for which he was harshly criticized. The president, however, left it up to his administration to decide whether or not to wear the mask at briefings.
According to Johns Hopkins University, which carries out calculations based on information from federal and local authorities, the U.S. recorded more than 1 million cases of infection with coronavirus, 58,365 people died.