WASHINGTON – Joe Biden says that if he were president, he would require people across the country to wear masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic.
“All we know is that these masks make a big difference. I would insist that everyone in public wear that mask,” the alleged 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said Thursday in an interview with KDKA, an affiliate of CBS Pittsburgh.
Biden, who wore a mask during the interview and was some distance from the reporter and the television camera, said that anyone who wanted to reopen a business would have to make sure that the people who entered had access to the masks.
When asked if he would use his federal influence to order the use of masks, the former vice president said, “Yes, I would do it from an executive point of view. Yes, I would.”
“I would do everything possible to demand that people have to wear masks in public,” Biden said.
During the interview, Biden also dismissed the idea of holding large protests in the current circumstances because the virus is not under control and a vaccine is not yet available.
Biden’s comments come amid a surge in coronavirus cases in several states across the country, with some being forced to stop their reopens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said Thursday that the number of COVID-19 cases in the US may be 10 times higher than reported.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, refused to wear a mask throughout the pandemic, including during his first campaign rally in months last weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which took place inside an arena where supporters were not they were required to wear masks.
Meanwhile, experts have been encouraging people to wear masks because it can significantly reduce virus transmission and potentially prevent a second wave of the disease.
