Coronavirus: Mike Pence ignores instruction to wear face mask at Mayo Clinic

Centre made him aware of policy before visit

Vice president Mike Pence toured the Mayo Clinic without wearing a face mask, despite being told by officials it was a requirement.

On Tuesday, Mr Pence toured the clinic, an academic medical centre, in Rochester, Minnesota, but chose not to wear the protective mask.

The clinic is forcing everyone who enters, whether as a guest or a patient, to wear a face mask while at the facility, to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

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

CNBC reported that Mr Pence was also not wearing a mask when he greeted officials at the airport in Rochester, before travelling to the clinic.

In a now deleted tweet, the clinic 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.

The clinic deleted the tweet after about 30 minutes, according to the outlet.

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 supporters of the president, who feel that by not wearing a mask, they are showing their support for Mr Trump.

Mike Pence 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,” the vice president added.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, nationally there are now upwards of on million people who have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 57,812.

The Independent has asked Mr Pence’s team for comment.