The union that represents Mayo Clinic employees said in a statement that Vice President Mike Pence's refusal to wear a mask while visiting the facility on Tuesday was insulting.

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota also said it was disappointed that the facility did not enforce its own policy.

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The union that represents Mayo Clinic employees said in a statement that Vice President Mike Pence's decision not to wear a mask when he visited the organization's facility in Rochester, Minnesota, on Tuesday was insulting.

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota said in a statement posted on Twitter: "When Vice President Pence ignores the safety policy and refuses to wear a mask, he insults the hard work and sacrifice of all health care workers. Worse, he puts them, their patients, and their families at risk."

—SEIU Healthcare MN (@SEIUHCMN) April 28, 2020

Earlier Tuesday, Pence, the head of the White House's coronavirus task force, defended his choice to go against the clinic's requirement that visitors wear a face mask or covering inside its facilities in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying he regularly gets tested for the coronavirus.

"As vice president of the United States, I'm tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus," Pence said, according to NBC. "Since I don't have the coronavirus, I thought it'd be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible healthcare personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you."

The Mayo Clinic tweeted but then deleted a message that it had "informed" Pence about its mask policy before his visit, Business Insider reported.

The union, which represents thousands of Mayo Clinic workers, said it was "deeply disappointed that Mayo failed to enforce their own policy."

Pence has previously ignored health experts' recommendations on how to limit the spread of the virus. He did not wear a mask when greeting Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on his way to the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on April 18 or when visiting a General Electric factory producing ventilators in Wisconsin on April 21.