Pandemic casts long shadow over Biden’s State of the Union

President BidenJoe BidenTrump tears into Biden as he moves toward 2024 campaign Biden says he hopes his legacy ‘is that I restored the soul of this country’ Cyber officials urge federal agencies to armor up for potential Russian attacks MORE‘s State of the Union address on Tuesday risks becoming an illustration of the divisions over the COVID-19 pandemic after nearly two full years of restrictions. 

Outside the Capitol where Biden will speak, law enforcement is preparing for the possibility of disruptive trucker convoys arriving in Washington after truckers shut down part of Canada’s capital for weeks to protest COVID-19 mandates. 

The trucker protest has become a cause célèbre for conservatives opposed to coronavirus restrictions, with many openly cheering and supporting the Ottawa demonstration.

And inside, at least for now, the plan is for lawmakers to wear masks and stay spaced apart, with no invited guests watching from the gallery, signs that the pandemic still looms large despite the recent efforts among even blue state governors to lift mask mandates. 

The speech comes just days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention significantly eased its mask recommendations for most of the country as the omicron-driven wave of COVID-19 subsides.   

Under the new recommendations, which put more emphasis on hospitalization rates than case numbers, the District of Columbia now qualifies as having a “low” community level of COVID-19 where “people may choose to mask at any time” rather than being urged to do so. 

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiMan who carried Pelosi’s lectern on Jan. 6 sentenced to prison Psaki on Cruz ‘Peanuts’ character comparison: ‘Don’t tell him I like Peppermint Patty’ Congress to receive in-person, classified briefing next week on Ukraine invasion MORE (D-Calif.) appeared to suggest at an event in San Francisco on Thursday, a day before the CDC issued its new guidance, that the State of the Union protocols might be more “relaxed.” 

“We have the State of the Union address by the president, which we’re very excited about. And hopefully, we’ll be able to do it in a more relaxed COVID way, but we don’t know. We’ll just hear from the Capitol physician about that,” Pelosi said. 

But Capitol officials are currently planning numerous strict health protocols for the State of the Union.  

Everyone in the House chamber will have to present a negative COVID-19 test taken a day ahead of time and wear a KN95 or N95 mask. Vaccinations are “strongly recommended,” but not required. 

An advisory from the House sergeant-at-arms warned that “failure to follow guidelines or removal of the mask in the House chamber will result in the attendee’s removal from the event and/or fines.” 

But the threat of fines hasn’t deterred several House Republicans from refusing to wear masks during the pandemic. And it’s possible those Republicans will still show up for Biden’s speech. 

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