The House is lifting its mask mandate ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Capitol Physician Brian Monahan shared the update in a letter on Sunday to lawmakers.
House lifting mask mandate ahead of State of The Union address https://t.co/YcsWC4U4Ts pic.twitter.com/ANd9kNvoi6
— The Hill (@thehill) February 28, 2022
“Individuals may choose to mask at any time, but it is no longer a requirement,” he wrote, according to The Hill.
The change comes as the CDC has eased its mask recommendations. On Friday, it said it no longer recommended most Americans wear a mask indoors.
“We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing when our levels are low, and then have the ability to reach for them again should things get worse in the future,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky today: “We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing when our levels are low, and then have the ability to reach for them again should things get worse in the future.”
Saying the soft part out loud yet again.
— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 26, 2022
The news comes as case numbers have dropped significantly in recent weeks after a spike in cases to end 2021 due to the Omicron variant.
The dropped mask requirement for the speech will help remove one controversy from Biden’s speech, though there will certainly be plenty of others for Americans to discuss.
