Mike Pence's wife says he was 'unaware' of Mayo mask policy despite clinic claiming to have told VP office

‘Knowing that he doesn’t have Covid-19 he didn’t wear one’

Mike Pence‘s wife, Karen Pence, has defended his decision to not wear a face mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The vice president was criticised on Wednesday for not wearing a face mask, despite the clinic claiming they warned him prior to the visit that wearing one is a requirement at the facility.

A video clip shot by a journalist at the visit, showed that everyone else around the vice president was wearing a face mask.

During an appearance on Fox News on Thursday, Ms Pence said that her husband didn’t wear a face covering, because he hadn’t tested positive for the virus.

“As our medical experts have told us, wearing a mask prevents you from spreading the disease. And knowing that he doesn’t have Covid-19, he didn’t wear one,” she said during an appearance on Fox and Friends.

Ms Pence added that it “was actually after he left Mayo Clinic that he found out that they had a policy of asking everyone to wear a mask.”

She added: “So, you know, someone who’s worked on this whole task force for over two months is not someone who would have done anything to offend anyone or hurt anyone or scare anyone.”

In a now deleted tweet, the clinic contradicted these claims, and said that officials had told Mr Pence prior to his visit that a face mask is a requirement at the facility.

“Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today,” the tweet read.

After they deleted the tweet, the clinic released a statement where they reiterated their claims: “Mayo shared the masking policy with the VP’s office,” it read.

In early April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommended that everyone in the US wear a face mask, or cloth face covering.

“CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,” their guidelines read.

Despite the guidance, president Donald Trump made it clear in early April that he will not wear a face mask in public, because the guidelines are voluntary.

“I just don’t want to wear one,” he said. “Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute desk ... I don’t see it for myself,” he added.

The attitude has been adopted by some of his supporters, who feel that by not wearing a mask, they are showing their support for the president.

Similarly to Ms Pence, the vice president told reporters after the visit that because he has tested negative for the virus, he does not need to wear a face mask.

“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 said.

“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.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now upwards of one million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 61,288.