President-elect Joe Biden reportedly plans on calling governors and mayors once he is sworn in to encourage them to implement mask-wearing mandates to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
In the meantime, he is making a plea to the American people to voluntarily wear masks in the absence of a mandate.
On Monday, Biden said, “It doesn’t matter who you voted for. Where you stood before election day. It doesn’t matter your party, your point of view. We can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months. Not Democrat or Republican lives, American lives.”
He continued to provide examples of average Americans whose lives could be saved by wearing masks. He added, “So, please I implore you, wear a mask. Do it for yourself. Do it for your neighbor. A mask is not a political statement, but it is a good way to start pulling the country together.”
Biden went on to tell Americans that the purpose of wearing a mask is not to limit their personal freedoms or “take something away from you.” Instead, he said it is “to give something back to all of us: a normal life.”
“The goal is to get back to normal as fast as possible. And masks are critical in doing that. It won’t be forever, but that’s how we’ll get our nation back,” he said.
He went on to argue that if Americans embraced masking wearing, it could facilitate the return of sporting events, birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and a strong economy.”
He continued, “It doesn’t matter whether or not we always agree with one another. It doesn’t matter who you voted for. We are Americans and our country is under threat.”
And he called on Americans to “rise above our differences” and “do the same thing that generations of proud Americans have done when faced with a crisis.”
Watch the video below:
Joe Biden: “It doesn’t matter who you voted for … it doesn’t matter your party, your point of view. We can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months. Not Democrat or Republican lives, American lives.” https://t.co/gZGcxbV15X pic.twitter.com/jcuA08EJgS
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 9, 2020
Finally, he spoke to Americans who may feel that their actions will not make a difference and argued that history has shown that “small acts add up to enormous achievements.”
“It’s the weight of many small acts together that bend the arc of history,” he added.
Throughout the campaign, Biden has repeatedly encouraged Americans to wear a mask and said it is a “scientific imperative” and can save thousands of lives.
While there are questions about whether Biden can implement a federal mask wearing mandate, he has said he would call governors, mayors, and local elected officials to pressure them to implement mask mandates at the local level.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has said he is “not totally against mandating.”
However, he added, “Some states and authorities feel that if you mandate, then you’re going to have to get into this situation of having to enforce it, and will that create more of an issue, and more of a distraction than just being very explicit in very, very strongly recommending.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans wear masks to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Biden’s comments come as the U.S. has reported more than 10 million cases of the virus and over 238,000 deaths.
