Video footage of Vice President Mike Pence‘s visit to the Mayo Clinic on Tuesday shows he did not wear any protective garments while receiving a tour of the medical center’s facilities, despite requirements that all patients and visitors wear masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by novel coronavirus.
“Mayo shared the masking policy with the VP’s office,” the Mayo Clinic said in a statement provided to TIME.
The Mayo Clinic is located in Rochester, Minn., and is one of the leading sites on coronavirus research. Pence — who leads the White House’s coronavirus task force — visited the center’s blood and plasma donation center to learn about its “moon-shot” testing program, which aims to increase Minnesota’s testing capability to 20,000 tests a day.
Video shows at one point at least ten people — including a patient — wearing masks around Pence, while he remained mask-less. CNN reports that Pence was, in fact, the only person in the entire building not wearing a mask.
After criticism of both Pence’s behavior and the Clinic’s decision to allow him to enter without a mask began spreading online, the Mayo Clinic tweeted at 2:18 p.m. that, “Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today.” The tweet has since been deleted.
The Mayo Clinic did not respond to questions about the deleted tweet or address the criticism surrounding Pence’s mask-less. Vice President Pence’s Office did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment on Pence’s visit.
Read more: The Ethics of Wearing (or Not Wearing) a Face Mask During the Coronavirus Pandemic
“Patients and visitors are asked to bring their own face covering or mask to wear. If a patient or visitor does not have a mask, Mayo Clinic will provide one,” the Mayo Clinic said in an April 13 press release. In early April the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance to recommend that the general public — including people who are not exhibiting any coronavirus symptoms — wear non-medical face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
While First Lady Melania Trump has released a video encouraging Americans to wear face masks, President Trump has said he does not plan to follow the CDC’s guidance.
