CDC guidance fallout: House, White House bring back mask mandates

House Attending Physician Brian Monahan said late Tuesday that the House of Representatives is reinstating its mask mandate – and therefore the threat of fines to members who don't comply – following updated guidance from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the delta variant of the coronavirus.

The White House also appears to be going back to mandated masks. A representative of the White House press representative was seen Tuesday swapping a sign saying people are required to wear masks if unvaccinated with another saying masks are required regardless of vaccination status. 

The CDC said Tuesday that it is recommending people who are vaccinated and in areas with high COVID-19 spread wear masks indoors. The announcement was foreshadowed for days by top officials and demanded for weeks by some activists. The new recommendation is likely to prompt a raft of new mask mandates around the country and has already done so in the U.S. Capitol. 

"For the Congress, representing a collection of individuals traveling weekly from various risk areas (both high and low rates of disease transmission), all individuals should wear a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask (for example an ear loop surgical mask or a KN95 mask) when they are in an interior space," Monahan said in a letter sent to congressional staffers. 

This, the attending physician added, includes the House chamber, committee meetings and all House office buildings. The only explicit exceptions Monahan mentioned were for those who are actively speaking, seeking recognition from a chair at a committee hearing or those who are alone in a room. 

"To be clear, for meetings in an enclosed US House of Representatives controlled space, masks are REQUIRED," Monahan said. "Failure to wear a mask in the Hall of the House is subject to fines imposed for violation as contained in the previous House rule."