Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday called for a nationwide mask mandate to help bring the pandemic to heel.
“Every American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months at a minimum,” Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Del., according to multiple accounts.
Biden, who's the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, raised the mandate issue after a briefing on the coronavirus with public health experts.
He was joined for the briefing and followup remarks by his newly named running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
“That’s what real leadership looks like,” Harris said after Biden’s comments, Fox News reported.
President Donald Trump's stance on masks has evolved. Most recently, he called their use patriotic, but has stopped short of making them a national requirement. And after being seen without a mask at multiple public events, he has begun wearing one.
Last month, Trump said that though he is “a believer in masks,” it should be left to governors to decide if orders mandating them in the different states should be implemented.