Masks return to White House as COVID-19 surges in states

And just like that, masks are back at the White House

WASHINGTON -- And just like that, masks were back at the White House. After insisting for days that vaccinated people were safe from the virus, the White House quickly shifted course Tuesday after federal health officials revised their guidance to recommend indoor masking for the vaccinated in areas where the level of transmission of the coronavirus is substantial or high. That includes Washington, D.C., where updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday found that transmission rates were substantial. Starting Wednesday, the White House will require all of its employees to again wear masks indoors. White House reporters were asked to follow those guidelines and mask up indoors as well, and those staff and reporters who remained at the White House late Tuesday were already wearing them in the building. An aide for Vice President Kamala Harris passed out masks to the reporters covering her events earlier that day, asking them to put them on before walking in to her meeting with Native American leaders on voting rights.