Biden has COVID-19 and didn’t wear a mask. The CDC’s guidelines say he doesn’t have to

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden did not wear a face mask in public a couple of times after the White House announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. The White House said the Democratic incumbent was experiencing “mild” symptoms while the president’s physician said Biden would self-isolate “in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals.”

What does the CDC guidance say? What does the White House say?

After the announcement on Wednesday, Biden emerged bare-faced from the motorcade after he arrived at the airport in Las Vegas, where he had made several appearances, and boarded Air Force One. He also was not wearing a mask, which medicals professionals have said can help slow the spread of disease, as he stepped off the plane hours later at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Biden was surrounded by Secret Service agents and aides on both ends of the trip.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in Wednesday’s announcement that Biden, 81, was experiencing “mild” symptoms and would stick to prearranged plans to travel to his home in Rehoboth Beach, where he would isolate.

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