The White House has announced that it will bring back some of the COVID-19 restrictions that were lifted earlier this year, such as mandatory masks for staff and visitors, social distancing measures and limited access to the press.
The decision comes after President Joe Biden declared an end to the national emergency over the pandemic on June 1, saying that the country had made ‘extraordinary progress’ in fighting the virus.
However, the recent surge in cases and hospitalizations due to the highly contagious Delta variant has prompted the administration to reverse course and reimpose some of the safety protocols that were in place during the height of the outbreak.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, confirmed on Friday that the new rules would apply to all staff and visitors, regardless of their vaccination status. She said that the move was based on guidance from public health experts and aimed at protecting the health and safety of everyone in the building.
Psaki also said that the White House would continue to encourage Americans to get vaccinated, wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines, especially in areas with high transmission rates. She added that the administration was not considering a national vaccine mandate at this point.
The White House’s decision to reinstate COVID mandates has drawn criticism from some Republicans, who accused Biden of sending mixed messages and undermining public confidence in the vaccines. They also questioned why the president was able to end the national emergency over the pandemic while still imposing restrictions on his own staff and visitors.
‘This is a stunning admission of failure by President Biden,’ said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House minority whip. ‘He declared victory over COVID-19 on July 4th, but now he’s bringing back mask mandates for vaccinated people at the White House.’
‘The American people deserve better than this flip-flopping and fear-mongering from their commander-in-chief,’ he added.
The White House’s announcement came as the U.S. reported more than 33,000 new cases and 350 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The seven-day average of new cases has increased by more than 70% in the past two weeks, while the seven-day average of deaths has risen by more than 26%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that the Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is now responsible for more than 80% of all infections in the U.S. The CDC has also said that fully vaccinated people can still spread the variant to others, although they are less likely to get sick or die from it.
The CDC has advised vaccinated people to wear masks indoors in areas with high or substantial transmission rates, which currently include about two-thirds of all U.S. counties. The CDC has also recommended that all students, teachers and staff wear masks in schools this fall, regardless of their vaccination status.
