Washington: The guidelines in place by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be abandoned when the US Congress would gather to certify the Electoral College votes that voted for President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday.
According to CNN, the joint session of Congress will mean as many as 535 members that comprise the House and Senate will come together in the House chamber at one time. House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer said the chamber is working to maintain more safety protocols but acknowledged that keeping what could be 535 members in compliance will not be easy.
"It is tough, but we're going to admonish them again. And all of us break the rule, unfortunately .. because that's the normal way we respond... We also think we're wearing masks, we might be safe," he told CNN Monday.
"But what we will do is admonish members to stay apart, don't get close to one another," he added.
The House is set to deploy the same mitigation measures that have been in place -- mandated mask-wearing while on the floor, marking off seats to maintain social distancing, and opening the gallery for members to spread out, as reported by CNN. According to the rules governing the certification, members are not required to be in the chamber and are highly encouraged to watch the proceedings from their offices.
However, the aide said that few members are expected to want to miss the debate of the certification process and leadership is expecting a very full chamber -- which means hundreds of members are expected to gather together on the House floor amid a pandemic.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would again allow proxy voting through February 18, which allows members to vote through another member.