Head of the Coronavirus Task Force Mike Pence Didn’t Wear a Mask While Touring Mayo Clinic

In a since-deleted tweet, the Clinic said it had informed Pence of its policy on masks before he toured the facility.  

Vice President Mike Pence declined to wear a face mask while touring the Mayo Clinic on Tuesday, despite warnings from Mayo Clinic staff that masks are required for visitors. 

In a video captured by a journalist pool camera, Pence can be seen standing in a group of 10 people, including a patient, all of whom are wearing masks and personal protective equipment. 

The Mayo Clinic, the nation’s premier medical facility located in Rochester, Minnesota, requires all patients, visitors, and staff to wear a face covering or mask. 

“Part of our protocol for ensuring your safety is to require all patients, visitors and staff to wear a face covering or mask while at Mayo Clinic to guard against transmission of COVID-19,” the facility says on its website.

In a since-deleted tweet, the Clinic said it had informed Pence of its policy on masks before he toured the facility.  

Pence visited the clinic with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to learn more about a new coronavirus testing “moonshot” that has the clinic partnering with the state and the University of Minnesota to increase the state’s testing capacity to 20,000 tests per day. 

RELATED: Everyone Should Use Face Masks. Trump Says He Won’t Wear One.

In addition to ignoring the Mayo Clinic’s policy, Pence, who leads President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, also ignored the federal government’s own guidelines, which recommend Americans wear masks in situations where “other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.”

Pence, apparently, did not consider his tour of the Mayo Clinic to be such a situation.