White House Coronavirus Team Refuses to Budge: 'Most of the Country' Still Needs to Wear Masks

President Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force on Wednesday side-stepped decisions by Democrat governors to lift mask mandates across the country, recommending most Americans remain masked in public indoor settings.

“At this time we continue to recommend masking in areas of high and substantial transmission,” Centers for Disease Control Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated during a press briefing. “That’s most of the country right now.”

Walensky said data showing coronavirus hospitalizations and cases were falling were encouraging but did not announce an update on their federal guidance for children in schools.

“We’re of course taking a close look at this in real-time and we’re evaluating rates of transmission as well as rates of severe outcomes as we look at updating and reviewing our guidance,” she said.

Joe Biden on mask mandate orders: “It’s about patriotism. It’s about being patriotic. It’s about saving lives, for real. I’m— this is not hyperbole. It’s about being patriotic.” https://t.co/Slpqqn7UmM

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) November 18, 2020

Several Democrat governors have lifted mask mandates despite the CDC’s continued guidance for populated areas to keep wearing masks in indoor public settings.

But Walensky said there was always some flexibility.

“We’ve always said that these decisions are going to have to be made at the local level,” says Dr. Rochelle Walensky when asked about Democrats lifting masking rules.

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients and include Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci focused most of their message on the importance of getting vaccine booster shots to increase immunity to the virus.

People wear masks at an indoor mall in The Oculus in lower Manhattan on the day that a mask mandate went into effect in New York on December 13, 2021 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Fauci hinted at the likelihood of some people requiring a fourth booster shot.

“There may be the need for yet again another boost, in this case, a fourth dose boost for an individual receiving the mRNA,” Fauci said, adding he does not expect an “across the board” recommendation from the government to do so.