McConnell Says He Avoided White House Because of Virus Protocols

(Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hasn’t been to the White House in two months because of concerns that the White House wasn’t following proper social distancing or mask-wearing protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“I haven’t actually been to the White House since August the 6th, because my impression was their approach to how to handle this was different from mine, and what I insisted we do in the Senate, which is to wear masks and practice social distancing,” McConnell said at a press conference Thursday in Kentucky.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and multiple top presidential advisers are among a number people working at the White House who’ve tested positive for Covid-19.

McConnell said some people are “paying the price” for failing to wear masks and practicing social distancing.

“If any of you’ve been around me since May the 1st, I’ve said ‘wear your mask, practice social distancing, it’s the only way we know of to prevent the spread until we get a vaccine,” he said. “And we’ve practiced that in the Senate. Now you’ve heard about other places that have had a different view and they are, you know, paying the price for it.”

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