Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Tina | Email Max Capitol Hill’s Covid-19 protocols are now tougher than the White House’s. Congress’ attending physician sent a note to congressional offices this morning that they “should immediately review their operations to adopt a maximal telework posture to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities to the maximum extent possible” and “[b]lue surgical masks, cloth face masks and gaiter masks must be replaced by the more protective KN95 or N95 masks.” Three White House aides tell us that similar steps are not being taken at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Most White House teams have not shifted their “telework posture” in response to the Omicron variant that has ripped through Washington, D.C. and other parts of the country. Surgical and cloth masks are still frequently used in the building. “Fewer germs would be spread if fewer people were on campus,” said one White House aide.“If the situation is dire enough that a mask rule and daily testing are enforced, then it is serious enough to also enforce telework for some employees.” Asked if the White House had plans for updating their guidance and, if not, why, deputy press secretary CHRIS MEAGHER wrote that “Since Day One of the Administration, we have maintained strong protocols in the White House, and have made some adjustments, including additional changes – requiring testing after any travel, further limiting size of campus gatherings, etc.” He added: “Our protocols are based on the guidance of the White House’s health and medical experts, and continue to help ensure the White House remains open for work and is safe for employees.” Many scientists have advised that cloth and surgical masks are not nearly as effective in preventing the spread of Covid-19, particularly an uber-contagious variant like Omicron, as The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. There is persuasive evidence to believe that the White House knows this, and not just because folks there read the Journal. Even though N95 masks are not required on the White House campus, they are required for staffers who interact with the president, the vice president, or their spouses, according to a copy of the White House’s internal Covid-19 protocols shared with West Wing Playbook. Asked why the White House requires N95 masks with the president and vice president but not in the White House generally, Meagher wrote that, “N95s are available to all staff” and “there are a range of measures that go above and beyond CDC protocols for interaction with principals.” Like any other workplace in America, the White House is trying to grapple with its own internal Covid-19 protocols. But officials there are also making broader policy for the country. There have been internal fights over increasing access to on-campus testing and transparency around breakthrough infections. At the same time, some of the protocols have stretched the White House budget, which contributed to a pause in most hiring earlier this fall. The current debate over White House protocols comes as the president and his top aides maintain that Omicron is a “cause for concern — not a cause for panic." Over the past few weeks, the administration has attempted to allay public concerns about the variant by urging Americans to increase vaccination, while insisting that vaccinated individuals should continue to live their daily lives. The White House has repeatedly emphasized its opposition to lockdowns, and pointed to data suggesting the variant is milder than previous versions of Covid-19, particularly for vaccinated individuals. “This is not March of 2020,” Biden said last month. “Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated. We’re prepared. We know more.” The Biden team has also resisted other potential changes that could lessen the spread of the virus on the White House grounds. Among other things, they have been unenthusiastic about suggestions from the White House Correspondents Association to move the press briefings to a more spacious venue like the South Court auditorium or to make them virtual, as the Covid-19 team’s press briefings already are. As West Wing Playbook previously reported, the White House Correspondents Association expressed concern to Biden’s communications team last month about the rapid spread of Omicron and the increasing number of positive cases in the briefing room. The organization wrote in an email on Sunday that it has been “working cooperatively” with the White House to develop a Covid-19 safety plan for the briefing room, but ultimately it was concern from reporters, not the White House, which pushed them to return to a reduced number of reporters in the briefing room until the Omicron wave has crested. Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? 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