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Coronavirus

Coronavirus US: why is Joe Biden asking Americans to wear masks?

Joe Biden, who has been a strong critic of President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, has called for a mandate on masks for at least the next three months.

Estados UnidosUpdate:
Coronavirus US: why is Joe Biden asking Americans to wear masks?
Drew AngererAFP

As the elections approach amid the coronavirus pandemic, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said on Thursday that it should be mandatory for everyone in the United States to wear a mask for the next three months.

“Every American should be wearing a mask when they are outside for the next three months at a minimum,” said Biden to reporters in Delaware.

Biden's suggestion came after he sat down with health experts, which convinced him that such a mandate will help stop the spread of the virus in the United States, the epicenter of global pandemic. 

“Lets institute a mask mandate nationwide starting  become the immediately and we will save lives,” said Biden.

Over 160,000 deaths

The current death toll in the United States is close to 166,000 people, with almost 5.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases. Biden added that “the estimates are we will save over 40,000 lives in the next three months if people wear the masks.”

Biden's calls for obligatory face masks come as President Donald Trump has not made it mandatory to wear a mask in public. Trump said last month that he believes that masks can stop the spreading of the virus but he has left it to the governors of each state to implement their own policies on masks. 

Since the pandemic started in the country back in March, Donald Trump had not been seen wearing a mask outside until last month, when he wore a mask in public for the first time during a trip to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

According to a poll from Fox News, 54% of Americans say that the United States is doing a worse job than other nations in handling the pandemic, 29% say the US is in a similar ‘boat’ to other countries, while 15% believe that America is doing a better job than other countries.