Biden Says He Will Ask Americans to Mask-Up For 100 Days Once He’s Inaugurated: ‘Not Forever’
President-elect Joe Biden said that one of his first moves in office will be to ask Americans to mask-up for 100 days, to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic until the several vaccines being reviewed by the FDA can be deployed to inoculate the country’s population.
CNN’s Jake Tapper spoke with Biden on Thursday night for his first joint interview with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Biden said he had a conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci — the head of the NIAID and member of the White House coronavirus task force — earlier Thursday, and that he asked him to stay on in that role but also to serve as his chief medical adviser.
The president-elect went on to outline his conversation with Fauci about how the next administration will tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As he points out you don’t have to close down the economy, like a lot of folks are talking about now, if in fact you have clear guidance,” Biden said. “And you’re able to say to businesses, ‘Okay,’ for example, ‘bars and restaurants are going to close, but we’re going to provide you the wherewithal to not lose your business… and not to close down for long periods of time.'”
Biden also said he will encourage masking in his first 100 days in office — but “not forever”:
We talked about masking. It is important that we in fact — the president and the vice president, we set the pattern by wearing masks. But beyond that, the federal government has authority, I’m going to issue a standing order that in federal buildings you have to be masked, in transportation, interstate transportation you have to be masked, in airplanes and buses, etc… I think my inclination, Jake, is in 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. 100 days. And I think we’ll see a significant reduction, if that occurs with vaccinations and masking, to drive down the numbers considerably. Considerably.
Watch above, via CNN.
