Washington: Joe Biden said Thursday that he will ask Americans to commit to 100 days of wearing masks. This will be one of his first acts as president. The president-elect has promised that he will do what it takes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the United States (US). So this is the first step Joe Biden will implement once he takes over.
The move marks a notable shift from President Donald Trump. The outgoing president had his own skepticism of mask-wearing. It led to the politicisation of the issue. That made many people reticent to embrace a practice. Public health experts say wearing of masks is one of the easiest ways to manage the pandemic. So far COVID-19 has killed more than 275,000 Americans.
The president-elect has frequently emphasised mask-wearing as a ‘patriotic duty’. During the campaign floated the idea of instituting a nationwide mask mandate, which he later acknowledged would be beyond the ability of the president to enforce.
Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Biden said he would make the request of Americans on ‘Inauguration Day’, January 20.
“On the first day I’m inaugurated, I’m going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask — not forever, just 100 days. And I think we’ll see a significant reduction in the virus,” Biden said.
Biden also said he asked Dr Anthony Fauci to stay on in his administration, ‘in the exact same role he’s had for the past several presidents’, as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert. Biden also informed he’s asked Fauci to be a ‘chief medical adviser’ as well as part of his COVID-19 advisory team.
Regarding a coronavirus vaccine, Biden said he’d be ‘happy’ to get inoculated in public to assuage any concerns about its efficacy and safety. Three former presidents — Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton — have said they’d also get vaccinated publicly to show that it’s safe.
“People have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work,” Biden said. “So it matters what a president and the vice president do,” he added.