President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Tuesday canceled White House Christmas parties over Omicron variant coronovirus fears, according to the Daily Mail.
While Joe Biden, Vice President Harris, Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will host the Democrat National Committee’s (DNC) holiday party elsewhere in Washington, DC, Tuesday evening, the Bidens have canceled many of the traditional White House Christmas celebrations that afford private citizens a glimpse into the mansion’s Christmas cheer.
“In the coming days, we will host a limited number of Holiday Open Houses, inviting guests to see the Christmas decorations in person at the White House,” Jill Biden’s spokesman, Michael LaRosa, told the Daily Mail.
The White House typically invites many private guests for a self-guided tour of the first family’s residence, where photos are taken under the presidential seal among elaborate Christmas decorations and iconic art.
But this year the guest list will reportedly be scaled down. LaRosa claimed:
It is disappointing that we cannot host as many people as the Bidens would like to, but as we have done since Day 1 of the Biden Administration, we will continue to implement strong COVID protocols, developed in consultation with our public health advisors.
When the White House press secretary was questioned about the coronavirus protocols still in place under Biden’s direction, she excused the precautions because the nation is “still in the middle of a pandemic.”
“Of course we’re going to continue to implement COVID protocols so it doesn’t look exactly like it has always looked here, but we are going to continue to celebrate, to embrace the holiday season and look for ways we can do that,” she said.
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