Teeth bared at mask order


Republican revolt at US House rule puts police on back foot over arrest plans
The bitter partisan divide over COVID-19 measures in the United States intensified on Thursday as Capitol Police backed away from plans to arrest any unmasked House of Representatives staff members or visitors after Republicans in the chamber strenuously objected.
"Regarding the House mask rule, there is no reason it should ever come to someone being arrested," the US Capitol Police said in a statement. "Anyone who does not follow the rule will be asked to wear a mask or leave the premises. The Department's requirement for officers to wear masks is for their health and safety."
The House shares the Capitol building in Washington with the Senate, which does not have a mask requirement.
House Republicans, many of whom have refused to wear masks on the premises, blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, with one calling the directive "tyrannical".
The Capitol Police chief does not report to the speaker, but to a three-member board, which is made up of the House sergeant-at-arms, the Senate sergeant-at-arms and the Capitol architect.
The House mandate, which requires everyone, including those fully vaccinated, to wear a mask was ordered on Tuesday evening by the Office of the Attending Physician, and Pelosi said she would follow it, as is her prerogative as speaker.
Congresswoman Kat Cammack, a Republican, on Thursday posted on Twitter a copy of the Capitol Police memo ordering the arrests.
"In today's edition of Pelosi's abuse of power, Capitol Police have been directed to arrest staff and visitors to comply with her mask mandate for vaccinated individuals," she said.
"For Members, they advise not arresting but reporting Members to SAA (sergeant-at-arms) for their failure to comply. ... I will not comply, Nancy. This is not your House. This is the People's House."
Cammack told Fox News that she got a copy of the mask memo from an unnamed Capitol Police officer. She said that police officers with whom she has spoken are "very uncomfortable" with the directive, which she called "tyrannical".
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said on his website on Wednesday: "The same bureaucratic 'public health experts' who completely upended our society by pushing lockdowns and yearlong school closures now want to force Americans to return to pre-vaccine control measures. By forcing vaccinated Americans to return to masks, the Biden administration is not only casting doubt on a safe and effective vaccine, but contradicting why vaccines exist."
On Wednesday, Pelosi referred to McCarthy as "such a moron" for opposing the revised mask guidance.
64,000 cases a day
Coronavirus cases are surging in the US due to the highly transmissible Delta variant that has become the dominant strain of the virus. The seven-day average of new cases in the US approached 64,000 on Thursday, up from 11,480 on June 19.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that millions of federal workers and on-site contractors will have to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or wear masks, practice social distancing and submit to regular testing under sweeping new guidelines.
Government employees who don't show they have been vaccinated will be subject to weekly or twice-weekly coronavirus tests and restrictions on official travel.
"The administration will encourage employers across the private sector to follow this strong model," the White House said in a statement.
There are 2.1 million civilians employed by the federal government, not including 600,000 US Postal Service workers and more than 1.4 million uniformed military personnel. Biden directed the Pentagon to "look into how and when" it can require active-duty troops to get immunized.
Biden also detailed several other steps aimed at persuading more people to get inoculated, including calling for state and local governments to make $100 payments to every newly vaccinated citizen.