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Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has apologized after posing for a selfie without wearing a face mask or adhering to social distancing rules.
In a picture posted to Facebook at the weekend, Holcomb was shown posing with two people at a restaurant in Nashville. None of three people were six feet apart from each other or wore face masks.
The Republican state leader said he was not wearing his mask at the restaurant because he was picking up a takeaway dinner and had left it in the car.
In a statement issued to 13 News and other local media outlets, the governor said his decision not to wear a mask had been "a lapse in my usual vigilance" and apologized.
"I ordered take out for dinner and ran in to pick it up, leaving my mask in the car. It was a lapse in my usual vigilance. I should have gone back out to the car to get my mask," Holcomb said.
"My apologies to all the healthcare professionals and Hoosiers who are working so hard to slow the spread."
He added that the incident was a "timely reminder" of the importance of following medical advice even in the "six second snap of a picture."
Newsweek has contacted Holcomb's office and will update this article with any response.
Under its guidance on gatherings and events, the Indiana State Department of Health stresses that people must stay six feet apart to curb the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advice on social distancing also calls on people to stay at least six feet apart from others.
Gov. Holcomb's apology came on the same day he unveiled Indiana's "Back On Track" plan for reopening the state and rolling back coronavirus shutdown measures.
The plan sets out a timetable for non-essential businesses to open their doors to customers again, as well as the end of essential travel restrictions and tight rules on social gatherings.
It also promises that Indiana will continue to monitor the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide, the availability of ventilators, and its ability to test all local citizens for the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the lead infectious disease expert on President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, warned last week that states would be taking a "significant risk" if they reopened before they were able to carry out proper contact tracing.
