Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser got caught with her mask down.
Photos of Bowser celebrating her birthday without wearing a face mask on Friday night, hours before a new indoor mask mandate for the city kicked in, caused a kerfluffle as the spread on social media Saturday.
One snap, initially posted on Instagram with the caption “When your [sic] asked to Dj for the Mayor!!! Happy Birthday @mayor_bowser,” showed a crowd having a party for the mayor, who will turn 49 on Monday. While it appeared the party took place in an outdoor, rooftop venue, social distancing was clearly not the order of the day as the crowd packed around Bowser and comedian Dave Chappelle.
A second photo showed the mayor, Chappelle, musician Frederic Yonnet and two others – none of whom wore masks — lined up before D.C. native Chappelle’s show reopening Washington’s Anthem theater Friday night.
Bowser, a Democrat, announced Thursday she was reimposing an indoor masking mandate, a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended masking in areas with high virus transmission. The mandate kicked in at 5 a.m. Saturday.