Individual cities are free to decide their own COVID-19 policies, even with updated CDC guidance emphasizing hospitalizations rather than just cases, the White House reiterated Tuesday.
Philadelphia has reinstated an indoor mask mandate despite being in the CDC’s green zone, the lowest of three virus risk levels established by the agency in February. The move has sparked discussions over whether other cities will follow, which White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about by a reporter.
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“Do you guys want other cities to follow suit?” the reporter said. “What would it take for the White House to reinstate a mask mandate on campus as well?”
Psaki responded that it would take the CDC recommending a reinstatement on the White House grounds. The District of Columbia is also in the low-risk green zone, though several area colleges have also reinstated forced masking.
“I would remind you that every state and city is going to make their own evaluations and their own assessments for what they need to do to keep communities safe,” Psaki said. “What we are going by is the CDC guidance, which has green, red, and yellow. It even impacts where the president wears masks.”
Psaki was speaking aboard Air Force One as President Joe Biden heads to Iowa to commence a rural infrastructure tour. Some of her response was obscured by an unstable audio connection.
Philadelphia is the first big city to reimpose a mask mandate since the last remaining ones were lifted in February. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health made the announcement on Monday, just over a month after lifting its mandate for indoor public places.
Mandatory masking will return in schools and child care settings, as well as restaurants and government buildings. Philadelphians who see a business violating the mandate have been encouraged to report it to 311.
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha has also said an extension of the federal mask mandate beyond April 18 is “absolutely on the table.”
The CDC’s updated guidance came after several Democratic governors ended mask mandates, placing them out of step with previous guidance that said almost the entire country should still be under forced masking. Public polling has increasingly shown people weary of restrictions and ready to move on without them.
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Psaki was asked if Philadelphia had moved prematurely, given that it’s in the low-risk category.
“It has been our view that cities and local governments can take and should take steps that they feel keep their communities safe,” she said.
