Mike Pence says he should have worn mask at Mayo Clinic

Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday night that he made a mistake by not wearing a mask on a visit to the Mayo Clinic last week.

“I should have worn a mask when I visited the Mayo Clinic,” Mr. Pence said during a town hall event on Fox News with President Trump at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

The vice president, head of the White House coronavirus task force, was heavily criticized for not wearing a mask as he toured the medical center in Minnesota and thanked health-care workers for their efforts.

The medical center’s policy is for visitors to wear masks during the pandemic.

Mr. Pence noted that he wore a mask on a visit later in the week to a General Motors plant in Indiana that is manufacturing ventilators for COVID-19 patients.

The vice president noted that he and the president are tested frequently for the virus.

“From early on, the CDC has made it clear that you wear a mask to prevent you from conveying the coronavirus to other people,” he said. “And since the president and I are in the unique positions we’re in, we’re tested often … I didn’t think it was necessary [at the Mayo Clinic], but I should have worn a mask.”