The mask requirement on the House floor has been lifted after federal regulators relaxed guidelines last week, and face coverings are now optional for the State of the Union address by President Joe Biden. A requirement that has been in place for much of the past two years was lifted on Sunday by the office of the attending physician. The change ahead of the speech will avoid a potential disruptive display of national tensions and frustration as Biden tries to convince the country to move beyond the swine flu epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new metrics place less of a focus on positive test results and more on what's happening in community hospitals, which is why the nation's capital is now in an area considered low risk. More than 70% of the U.S. population is in counties where the coronaviruses is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. The agency said that healthy people can stop wearing masks indoors. Special precautions will be in place for Biden's speech, unlike last year, which was open to all members of Congress. All attendees will have to take a COVID-19 test before entering the chamber. The Office of the Sergeant at Arms, which is part of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, issued initial guidelines earlier this month that included a threat that a person would be removed if they violated the guidelines. GOP lawmakers have racked up thousands of dollars in fines for violating mask-wearing mandates. Biden wants to use his remarks to highlight the progress against COVID-19 made over the last year, including vaccinations and therapeutic, and guide the country into a new phase of the virus response that is not driven by emergency. White House aides fretted that a repeat of Biden's address to a joint session of Congress would be a problem. The president's joint address will look more like a normal state of the union, according to the White House chief of staff. The Capitol move comes just a day before the Washington mask mandate expires, and as a host of states and local governments have begun implementing the new CDC guidelines and lifting mask-mandates indoors and in schools. The omicron variant is less likely to cause death or serious illness than earlier strains, which has led to a drop in case loads across the country. The congressional staff was told on Sunday that masks are no longer required in the Capitol complex. The new guidance comes as the number of coronavirus cases is falling in D.C. and nationwide. Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the state's mandate requiring mask use at schools would end on Wednesday. The city will end requirements for New Yorkers to show proof of vaccination at indoor settings if there is a low level of risk. The decline was cited by the governor. Protect your files and photos with a full terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage. EU ministers met to discuss triggering a 21-year-old refugee law for the first time to help Ukrainian refugees get resettling quickly in European countries without first applying for asylum. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order forbidding her state from doing business with Russia. Critics say the report on the host gives him too much attention. Enjoy this stunning graphics and deep game-play. It won't stop the invasion of Ukraine, but confiscating Putin's yachts will give Americans and Europeans some comfort. The Biden administration made 500 million free COVID-19 tests available to the public, but only half of them have been claimed. There are fewer than 100,000 orders a day for the packages of four free rapid tests per household. The White House wants to show the country that in-person work can be safe, so the Biden administration is going to accelerate the return of the federal workforce this week, according to people familiar with the plans. Biden's team is discussing the best way to send a clear back-to-work signal to America, possibly in the State of the Union address on Tuesday. Home equity and cash out refinance rates are the best today. View rates and calculate payment. 30 Year terms. You can view rates now. Russia continued its invasion of the country as people around the world rallied in support. The invasion has united the world and sparked global outrage, with thousands taking to the streets in cities like London, Washington, D.C., and Putin's backyard in Moscow. You can subscribe for free. There is a pro-Ukrainian protest in Lafayette Park near the White House. New York City, the first major U.S. metropolis to require vaccines indoors, will lift its mandate for indoor businesses, dining and events in the coming days. Biden nominated Jackson to the Supreme Court. There are luxury rentals in Center City. The ideal location is on Independence Mall. There is amazing access to the parks. The International Ski Federation said in a statement that the bronze medal would be awarded to Smith after she was wrongly demoted to fourth in Beijing. On Monday, the KCNA news agency reported that a test on Sunday was for the development of a satellite system. The report did not say what type of rocket had been used in the test, but authorities in South Korea and Seoul said it appeared to be a missile. The launch was the eighth this year and the first since January when North Korea fired off a record number of missiles. Western allies have intensified their efforts to punish Russia with new sanctions that include closing their airspace to Russian aircraft, cutting off some of its banks from the financial network and limiting Moscow's ability to deploy its $630 billion foreign reserves. The biggest foreign investor in Russia said it was abandoning its stake in the state oil company at a cost of up to $25 billion. The British company's abrupt move puts the spotlight on other Western corporations with operations in Russia, as governments tighten the financial screws on Moscow, after it launched the biggest assault on a European country since World War Two. Few know that Amazon has millions of Prime subscribers. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is growing frustrated with the lack of international action and has started looking for his own supporters. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission supports the Eastern Member States in taking care of refugees. Valery Gergiev was dropped by his management company because of his ties to Russia's president. The Russian had been represented by Marcus Felsner, who started his own management company after leaving Opus3. The AirMini AutoSet is the world's smallest CPAP. For a limited time, you can get a free prescription for the AirMini. The State Department said on Sunday that US citizens should consider leaving Russia on commercial flights. U.S. citizens have been asked to have a contingency plan that doesn't rely on the U.S. government. Republican candidates may give Kevin McCarthy the numbers he needs to take control of the House, but their loyalty is in question. An outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variant overwhelms healthcare facilities and proves hard to control, as Hong Kong reported a record 26,026 daily COVID-19 infections on Sunday and 83 deaths. The global financial hub has imposed some of the most stringent COVID restrictions in the world to cope with the coronavirus spike, leading some executives to leave and frustrating some residents. Hong Kong has imposed its strictest rules yet in order to eradicate the disease, following in the footsteps of the mainland.Associated Press
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