With Andrew Desiderio, Sarah Ferris, Jennifer Scholtes. OAP'S ABOUT FACE — Folks on Capitol Hill were getting mixed signals about where and when they should be wearing masks, how to apply new CDC guidance and how much risk there is for contracting Covid while working in Congress. To mask, or not to mask: that's a real question. Mask wearing has ramped up in the last week or so on Capitol Hill, but until late last night there wasn't much clear guidance, leaving it to personal choice and comfort. The Office of the Attending Physician issued late night guidance for each chamber Tuesday, but with a mandate for the House and a softer recommendation in the Senate, confusion still reigns. Partisan fights over masks erupted in the House earlier this year and could make a comeback if a fresh mask mandate is imposed. "For all House Office Buildings, the Hall of the House, and House Committee Meetings, wearing of a well-fitted, medical grade, filtration face mask is required when an individual is in an interior space and other individuals are present. To be clear, for meetings in an enclosed US House of Representatives controlled space, masks are REQUIRED," reads the memo from the Office of the Attending Physician. The Senate, with many fewer (and older) lawmakers who took covid precautions more seriously from the outset, is left to self-regulate by the Capitol's top doc. Dr. Brian Monahan recommends that in the Senate, "all individuals should wear a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask (for example an ear loop surgical mask or a KN95 mask) when they are in an interior space and other individuals are present." It is the same guidance as for the House, but recommended, not required. "We're going to speak without the masks, but wear the masks," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, explaining his mask approach at a Tuesday press conference. "Right now, you have to do what you think is best. For myself, I'm going to put on a mask." The CDC reversed course Tuesday, updating guidance for fully vaccinated people to wear masks indoors if they live in areas with significant or high spread. Washington, D.C. has experienced a four-fold increase in daily case rate since the beginning of July, according to D.C. Health. McConnell , who was unmasked Tuesday, pointed to the high vaccination rate on Capitol Hill as a key consideration. But he did say the new CDC guidance will prompt thinking about how to proceed with masks. "Almost everyone in the Capitol Complex is vaccinated, so this environment right here is pretty safe," he said. That assessment matches information put out by the OAP in recent months, that high rates of employees and lawmakers are vaccinated. To anyone looking to get the jab: Dr. Brian Monahan is urging unvaccinated individuals to head to the Attending Physician's office to get the shot. "For those individuals reliant upon recovery from natural infection, the Delta variant is a severe threat and recovery from previous infection provides little or no protection against the coronavirus variants," he warned. Testing has ramped up on Capitol Hill, with extended hours at the CVC testing site, which now opens at 8:30 a.m. Hopefully that will alleviate some of the long lines and wait times that folks encountered last week. In case you noticed a different swabbing procedure from previous tests — Curative is still running the site, but they are now using Abbott test kits instead of their own. The testing site is doing brisk business, but hasn't reached the number of tests it was processing daily or weekly earlier in the year, when much fewer people were working in-person and vaccines weren't readily available, according to a House aide familiar with the site's operations. | 
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