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On Friday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Jr. described precisely how a Biden administration would fight the coronavirus outbreak, a day after the U.S. recorded roughly a record daily high in new infections.
Biden claimed that if elected, he would begin implementing his plan even before his inauguration.
“I will approach every governor in each state, blue and red, as well as mayors and local administrators, during the transition, to figure out what aid they need and how much of it they need,” Biden specified in a speech at the Wilmington’s Queen Theater.
“I’ll ask the new Congress to place a bill on my desk by the finish of January with all the resources required so that both our economic response and our public health response can be realized through to the end.”
Here are key steps of Biden’s plan to fight Covid-19
Wearing masks
Biden elaborated that he would contact every governor and ask them to enforce a mask mandate. As they did in various states, Biden said he would move to local officers if governors declined. He also said he would mandate masks in federal buildings and interstate transportation.
Advanced-level Covid testing
The former Vice president announced he would command a national testing plan to carry out as many coronavirus tests each day as the U.S. is currently executing each week.
According to him, it would amount to approximately 7 million daily tests.
He would also expand labs’ capacity, employ a national corps of contact tracers, and ensure that tests are accessible and free of charge regardless of immigration status.
Personal protective equipment
Biden aims to practice “the full advantage of the Defense Production Act” to lead the domestic production of gloves, masks, gowns, and other equipment, including healthcare workers’ ample N95 masks.
He also stated his intent to hire “a fully authorized supply commander in charge of filling in the gaps.”
Unvarying scientific reopening guidelines
Biden said his administration will “generate reliable, consistent, detailed, trusted nationwide guidance and technical assistance to make resources help reopen the country safely.” He also signalled that his government would offer technical advice and consultations so the American public has a place to turn with their queries.
Vaccine and treatments
Biden’s plan to fight coronavirus includes emphasizing balanced and extensive delivery of therapeutics in the near term and, finally, a free COVID-19 vaccine. However, Biden also acknowledged that even if a vaccine is proven effective, “It will still be a wait of several months before any vaccine is generally available.”
Biden’s announcement showcased the convincing divide between his and President Donald Trump’s approach to combating the coronavirus, which relies significantly on shifting authority and accountability for pandemic response onto states, and the former vice president’s more centralized plan.
One of Trump’s spokespersons waited to respond to a media request for comment on Biden’s address.
With only 11 days left before Election Day, the plan to publicize Biden’s final argument summarized his central campaign promise: a return to accountability and steady and reliable leadership.
“Think of a day in the not too far future, when you can celebrate dinner with your family and friends, and perhaps even go out to a movie,” the former vice president said, painting a picture of American’s everyday life that used to sound routine, but now seems out of reach for many.
President Trump, meanwhile, has continued to downplay the seriousness of the global outbreak, which has thus far cost the lives of over 220,000 Americans, the gravest outcome among any of the developed nations.
In his final presidential debate with Biden on Thursday, Trump insisted that the U.S. is “rounding the corner” and the virus is “going away,” despite the reality that cases are growing in most states. “I say we’re learning to live with it,” Trump said.
“People are learning to die with it,” Biden shot back to Trump in the final presidential debate on Oct. 22, 2020.