Trump orders staffers to wear face masks more than a month after the CDC's guidelines, but the rule won't apply to him

• The White House is ordering all West Wing staffers to wear masks in the building, except while they're seated at their desks and able to maintain six feet of distance from others.
• The policy won't apply to President Donald Trump, who's so far refused to wear a mask, aides told The Washington Post.
• "We are requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or facial covering," the White House Management Office wrote in a Monday email to staffers.
• This comes after one of Trump's West Wing valets and Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary tested positive for the coronavirus last week.
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President Donald Trump on Monday ordered all West Wing staffers to wear face masks in the White House. The move comes more than a month after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began asking all Americans to wear facial coverings when they cannot social distance.

But the president, who's so far refused to wear a mask even when coming into contact with large groups of people, won't follow this new rule, aides told The Washington Post. Vice President Mike Pence has only worn a mask once in public and faced widespread backlash recently for touring the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota without wearing a mask, violating the organization's mandatory policy.

"We are requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or facial covering," the White House Management Office wrote in an email to staffers obtained by ABC News, pointing to the CDC's policy.

But aides will be permitted to remove their masks while they're seated at their desks in the White House and able to maintain at least six feet of distance from others.

—Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) May 11, 2020

This comes after two White House staffers — one of Trump's West Wing valets and Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller — tested positive for the coronavirus last week.

Both staffers, like many in the White House, did not regularly wear masks or gloves while closely interacting with others. Miller spoke to reporters on Thursday without a mask or gloves on while standing within six feet of them. She tested positive for the virus the next day.

Trump has insisted that he's protected from being infected because he and those who come in contact with him are regularly tested for the virus. But last week, he conceded that, even with regular testing, cases can fall through the cracks. The rapid testing device used at the White House has a false negative rate of around 15%.

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