Joe Biden called for a nationwide mask mandate on Thursday and urged all Americans to wear masks for at least the next three months as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take lives.
“Every single American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months, at a minimum,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware.
“This is not about Democrats, Republicans or independents. It’s about saving Americans’ lives,” he also said. “Let’s institute a mask mandate, nationwide, starting immediately, and we will save lives.”
Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) were in Wilmington to hold their second public appearance together since he announced the senator as his running mate.
The federal government’s response to the pandemic is sure to be a hot topic as Biden moves closer to accepting the Democratic presidential nomination next week and becoming President Donald Trump’s official opponent.
Back in June, Biden said that as president, he “would do everything possible” to require people to wear masks in public.
Studies have shown that the widespread use of face masks and other facial coverings can reduce the spread of the virus.
Biden urged governors on Thursday to require mask-wearing.
“It’s not about your rights, it’s about your responsibilities,” he said of mask-wearing generally.
“When I get occasionally confronted by a person in public about wearing a mask, I say, ‘Look, this is America, be a patriot, protect your fellow citizens,’” said Biden. “Step up, do the right thing.”
As of Thursday, the U.S. has had a total of more than 166,000 deaths linked to COVID-19.
Trump has resisted calls for months to issue a mask mandate on the federal level, leaving the decision up to state governors.
Trump himself refused to put on a mask in public through the spring, even as some states were overloaded with COVID-19 cases and top U.S. health officials urged people to wear masks.
In April, the president said, “I just don’t want to wear one myself.” In May, he retweeted Fox News analyst Brit Hume’s tweet mocking Biden for wearing a mask in public.
Trump finally wore a mask in public in July as the virus spiked for a second time in many states. Later that month, he tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask and suggested it showed “there is nobody more Patriotic than me.”