White House requires West Wing staffers and visitors to use face masks [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• White House has stepped up its coronavirus measures for guests and staff members in the West Wing.
• On a daily basis, Trump and Pence, along with other people who had interacted with them, will have to be screened for the virus.
• The move comes immediately after staff members closely working with both the president and the vice president got tested positive with coronavirus.

The White House has instructed employees deployed at the West Wing, where most of the daily work by the President Donald Trump’s administration is accomplished, to use face masks at all times while in the facility.

A senior administration official of the White House also confirmed on Monday that the staff members are not required to wear masks once they’re on their work stations.

ABC News has earlier reported that a new advisory about wearing a face mask was instructed for those who enter the building.

The measure came after the coronavirus diagnosis of Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary and two of President Trump’s valets, and the pressure is mounting for the White House to take the necessary steps in ensuring that nation’s 73-year-old president remains healthy.

As usually seen on his public appearances, Trump has not been wearing face protection but said he tried using some while in the last week’s visit to a mask manufacturing plant in Arizona.

Health authorities had repeatedly warned that older people are considered high risk when it comes to the complications with COVID-19, and Trump belongs to the age group.

Currently, tens of thousands of individuals have already died in the U.S because of coronavirus, and the disease has plagued countries and their economies all over the world.

Last week, the White House announced that it will be stricter in implementing measures to protect Trump and Pence from interacting with the people around, especially now that both the president and the vice president have resumed moving outside the U.S capital.

Trump and Pence are also tested for COVID-19 every day, along with close staffers and associates.

In a statement, spokesperson for the White House, Judd Deere, said other than daily coronavirus tests, the office also makes sure that people that had close contact with Trump and Pence practice social distancing, had undergone several temperature checks, history of symptoms declared, regularly applies hand sanitizer, and consistently keeps their work stations clean.

Following last week’s coronavirus diagnosis of Katie Miller, Pence’s press secretary, Trump was asked if staff members in the West Wing would start wearing face masks. The president replied that while most people are already using face protection,  he and his visitors that time had not put on masks, and West Wing workers were not using them also.

Source: AOL