Biden, Harris Call for National Mask Mandate Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) are teaming up to call on governors to issue mask mandates nationwide amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden kicked off a press conference in Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday where he called on lawmakers to put aside their differences and come together to protect Americans.

“This is not about Democrat, Republican, or Independent. It’s about saving Americans’ lives,” Biden said.

He added, “So let’s institute a mask mandate nationwide, starting immediately and we will save lives. The estimates are we’ll save over 40,000 lives in the next three months if that is done.”

Watch their comments below:

Biden turned the mic over to Harris where she commended Biden for his leadership.

“That’s what real leadership looks like. We just witnessed real leadership, which is 👤Joe Biden said that as a nation we should all be wearing a mask for the next three months because it will save lives,” Harris said.

She added, “And, the thing about Joe that the American people know is that his role of leadership in our country has always been about doing what’s best for the people of our country, best for their health, their well being, and their families.”

Harris provided incite into what their administration would do to respond to the pandemic if they Biden is elected president.

Their strategy includes creating a pandemic testing board, building a public health jobs corp, and administrating a safe and effective vaccine.

Harris noted Biden’s plan is to invest $25 billion into manufacturing and distributing a vaccine.

Drugmaker Moderna Inc. and the White House announced Tuesday the United States will acquire 100 million doses of the company’s potential COVID-19 vaccine for around $1.5 billion, as IJR previously reported.

Their comments come as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States has crossed more than 5 million.