Pence tours the Mayo Clinic and DOES NOT wear a mask despite policy

Mike Pence says he DOESN’T need to wear a mask because he’s ‘been tested’ as he defies Mayo Clinic’s masks-for-all policy on tour of clinic – then claims he wanted to ‘look healthcare personnel in the eye and say thank you’

  • Vice President Mike Pence flouted the Mayo Clinic’s face mask policy
  • He doesn’t wear one when he meets with staff and patients
  • Clinic asks all visitors to wear masks to stop the spread of coronavirus
  • Mayo Clinic also deleted tweet that it told Pence’s office of the requirement 
  • ‘Since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers these incredible healthcare personnel and look them in the eye and say thank you,’ Pence explained
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Vice President Mike Pence flouted the Mayo Clinic’s face mask policy on Tuesday when he visited doctors and patients the Minnesota hospital, not wearing the protective covering despite the hospital requirement.

The clinic asks all visitors to wear face masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, which is also a recommendation the Trump administration has made. 

‘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,’ reads the Mayo Clinic’s policy, according to its website. ‘If a patient or visitor does not have a mask, Mayo Clinic will provide one.’

But Pence did not wear one when he met with staff and a patient at the Rochester, Minnesota, facility, nor when he visited a lab on the campus. Photos and video footage shows he was the only person visible who was not wearing a face covering. 

He said he didn’t wear one because he is regularly tested for the virus and doesn’t have it. He added he wanted to look people in the eye and thank them. The masks cover the nose and mouth but not a person’s eyes. 

Vice President Mike Pence flouted the Mayo Clinic’s face mask policy during visit even as others wore one

The Mayo Clinic deleted its tweet saying it informed Vice President Mike Pence of its mask policy

Vice President Mike Pence talks with a lab technician as he tours Mayo Clinic facilities 

Vice President Mike Pence visits Dennis Nelson, who survived the coronavirus, and was going to give blood during a tour of the Mayo Clinic

Vice President Mike Pence said he didn’t wear a mask because he doesn’t have the virus

‘As Vice President of the United States I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,’ he noted, saying he is following CDC guidelines which indicate that the mask is good for preventing the spread of the virus by those who have it.

‘And since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers these incredible healthcare personnel and look them in the eye and say thank you,’ he added.

The clinic has had the mask policy in place since April 13 and even offered to provide one. 

Pence was told of the policy before he visited, the clinic said in a Twitter post that was subsequently deleted.

‘Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today,’ the post read. 

Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, sported a mask as did Mayo Clinic officials who accompanied Pence when he visited a blood and plasma donation center on the campus. Members of the vice president’s entourage also wore face coverings. 

During his visit, Pence met Dennis Nelson, a Mayo Clinic employee from Rochester, who contracted the coronavirus at the end of March and recovered. 

Nelson made a donation and sat in a chair in the blood and plasma donation center of the clinic while talking to Pence. 

Pence also toured the virology laboratory’s labeling area, where he thanked some of the employees, all in white coats and masks. 

The vice president also held a roundtable with local officials and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

All except Pence wore masks. And the officials observed socially distance guidelines when they sat at the table with several feet between them. 

‘We will get through this, we will get through this together,’ Pence said. 

Vice President Pence talking with staff who wore masks while he did not

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greeted Vice President Mike Pence when he arrived in the state; Walz wore a face mask while Pence didn’t; the two men bumped elbows instead of shaking hands

Vice President Pence also held a roundtable at the hospital where participants – except for him – wore a face mask

The Mayo Clinic’s policy on wearing face masks

When President Donald Trump announced his administration’s recommendation to wear face marks on April 3, he said he wouldn’t wear one. 

‘I don’t think I’m going to be doing it,’ he said, saying he didn’t want to do such a thing in the Oval Office: ‘Wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens – I just don’t see it.’ 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a face mask in public settings where socially distancing policies are hard to follow.  

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