Biden one of few world leaders at virtual climate summit to wear mask on camera

President Biden is holding a virtual climate summit with other leaders around the world in an effort to combat environmental threats, but during the online conference, Biden continued to wear his face mask in front of cameras, with other leaders thousands of miles away participating in the event maskless.

The two-day climate summit featured other U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and climate envoy John Kerry, who have all worn masks for the majority of the conference. Blinken, Biden and Kerry sat six feet from each other. 

Biden has been vaccinated. 

While Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Communist Party Leader Xi Jinping spoke during the event, Biden appeared on camera with his mask covering his face, continuing his strong efforts against the coronavirus, in apparent effort to urge people worldwide to continue to wear a mask as long as the pandemic continues, with new outbreaks in such places as Brazil and India. 

During his opening address on Thursday, Bide removed his face covering when speaking with other participants. He stayed for the first 90 minutes of the conference on Thursday, and returned briefly later. The conference continued on Friday morning. 

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul earlier this week criticized Biden for continuing to wear a mask after being vaccinated, saying he should burn it in public.